Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $188.46.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $189.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $179.29 on Thursday. Intercontinental Exchange has a 12-month low of $132.93 and a 12-month high of $180.89. The stock has a market cap of $102.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $168.33 and a 200 day moving average of $163.12.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.75%.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,630 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $418,170.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,364 shares in the company, valued at $3,396,876. This represents a 10.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO James W. Namkung sold 612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $110,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,379,600. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,191 shares of company stock worth $694,978. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fielder Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 2,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values Added Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.