Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 34.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 876 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,228,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,782,521,000 after purchasing an additional 538,670 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.8% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 327,637 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,196,258,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 390,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,940,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $587,166,000 after acquiring an additional 11,767 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ICE. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.47.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $158.34 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.34 and a 52-week high of $177.45. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 23.42%. Sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 32.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 4,155 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 57,376 shares in the company, valued at $9,501,465.60. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,931 shares of company stock worth $10,492,868. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.