Sfmg LLC Reduces Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Sfmg LLC lowered its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 558 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,919,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,162,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,034 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 25,406,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,606,466,000 after purchasing an additional 4,044,744 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,114,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,755,753,000 after purchasing an additional 5,354,161 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 219.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,146,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,336,371,000 after purchasing an additional 8,348,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,503,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,092,660,000 after purchasing an additional 127,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE stock opened at $130.74 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.86 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12-month low of $103.81 and a 12-month high of $140.43.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 23.91%. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Intercontinental Exchange’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $153.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 27,970 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.74, for a total transaction of $3,768,677.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 138,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,659,738.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total value of $8,011,417.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,179,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,893,392.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 27,970 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.74, for a total transaction of $3,768,677.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 138,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,659,738.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 157,491 shares of company stock worth $21,454,204. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.