Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Stock Price

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $181.00 to $192.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ICE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $174.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.99 billion, a PE ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $166.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.63. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1-year low of $130.39 and a 1-year high of $177.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $2.47 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is 39.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $1,761,252.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,661,008.24. This represents a 32.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 17,104 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total value 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 $25,855,091.88. The trade was a 9.93 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $1,196,258,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 132.9% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,121,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,359,173,000 after purchasing an additional 5,204,309 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 423.8% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,546,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $677,465,000 after buying an additional 3,678,384 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $406,728,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 24,394.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,264,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,906,700,000 after buying an additional 2,255,507 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.