abrdn plc Buys 69,174 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

abrdn plc increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 621,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 69,174 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.11% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $79,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,919,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,162,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,034 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 25,406,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,606,466,000 after buying an additional 4,044,744 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,114,267 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,755,753,000 after buying an additional 5,354,161 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 219.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,146,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,336,371,000 after buying an additional 8,348,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,503,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,092,660,000 after buying an additional 127,481 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,388 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total transaction of $8,011,417.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,179,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,893,392.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Intercontinental Exchange, Inc bought 2,762,009 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $0.87 per share, for a total transaction of $2,402,947.83. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 7,476,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,504,420.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,388 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total transaction of $8,011,417.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,179,895 shares in the company, valued at $161,893,392.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 157,491 shares of company stock worth $21,454,204. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 0.2 %

ICE stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,263,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,162,513. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.81 and a 1 year high of $140.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $75.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $136.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.64.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.91% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The company's revenue was up 24.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is an increase from Intercontinental Exchange's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ICE shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $153.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $135.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.08.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.