Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Sold by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lowered its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 4.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 145,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $24,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 128.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 26,000.0% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.73.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $158.59. 451,146 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,067,423. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $164.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $90.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.17 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total value of $2,358,319.26. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at $10,055,992.38. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 12,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $2,122,065.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 165,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,339,180. This trade represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.