Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Decreases Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,292,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,656 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for approximately 0.8% of Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned approximately 0.23% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $192,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,228,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,782,521,000 after acquiring an additional 538,670 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,883,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,765,317,000 after purchasing an additional 327,637 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,196,258,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 6,160,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $918,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,265,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $865,455,000 after purchasing an additional 390,332 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $182.67.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Intercontinental Exchange stock traded up $3.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $174.27. 1,435,078 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,933,262. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $100.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.34 and a 12-month high of $177.45. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $166.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.59.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 4,155 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.60, for a total transaction of $688,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,376 shares in the company, valued at $9,501,465.60. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 17,104 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total transaction of $2,849,868.48. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 155,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,855,091.88. The trade was a 9.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,931 shares of company stock valued at $10,492,868 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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.