South Plains Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 5,659 Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $843,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ICE. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $189.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $183.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 4,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.60, for a total value of $688,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,501,465.60. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total transaction of $1,761,252.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,661,008.24. This represents a 32.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,931 shares of company stock valued at $10,492,868 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $173.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,921,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,928,957. The company has a market cap of $99.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.39 and a 12-month high of $177.45. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $166.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

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.