Ritholtz Wealth Management Grows Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 52.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,732 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $1,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 116.7% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ICE opened at $180.97 on Wednesday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.78 and a twelve month high of $181.65. The company has a market cap of $103.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.33.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.48, for a total value of $283,968.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,847,511.24. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $418,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 227,954 shares of company stock valued at $40,796,663 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.46.

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.