Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $5,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 219.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,146,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,336,371,000 after purchasing an additional 8,348,126 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,073,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $668,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,536 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,012,034 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 58.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,374,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,251,000 after acquiring an additional 879,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 29.2% during the third quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 2,389,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,941,000 after purchasing an additional 539,934 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE ICE traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $131.28. 1,738,887 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,418,198. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.81 and a 1 year high of $140.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $134.88 and its 200-day moving average is $126.17. The company has a market capitalization of $75.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.02.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 24.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is 41.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Intercontinental Exchange, Inc purchased 2,762,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $0.87 per share, with a total value of $2,402,947.83. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 7,476,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,504,420.15. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Intercontinental Exchange news, major shareholder Intercontinental Exchange, Inc purchased 2,762,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $0.87 per share, with a total value of $2,402,947.83. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 7,476,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,504,420.15. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO James W. Namkung sold 1,182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.03, for a total value of $156,059.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 16,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,164,763.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 157,832 shares of company stock worth $21,499,127. Insiders own 1.10% 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.