Brokerages Set Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Price Target at $193.50

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $193.50.

Several analysts have weighed in on ICE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:ICE opened at $174.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $161.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.30. Intercontinental Exchange has a 52 week low of $143.17 and a 52 week high of $189.35. The company has a market cap of $99.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 25.24%.The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.96, for a total value of $584,452.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,285,523.24. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.20, for a total transaction of $261,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 24,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,948,787.20. This trade represents a 6.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 166,068 shares of company stock worth $25,470,702 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 3.3% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the second quarter valued at about $995,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter worth about $249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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.