Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $168.55 and last traded at $167.59, with a volume of 417375 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $160.70.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ICE. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.4 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.81. The company has a market capitalization of $95.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 21.31%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $932,480.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 156,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,986,080. This represents a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart Glen Williams sold 750 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total transaction of $114,742.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,955,212.20. This represents a 5.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,795 shares of company stock worth $2,120,572. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 13,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at $751,000. AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,149,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,324,000 after acquiring an additional 61,235 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 229,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,139,000 after purchasing an additional 106,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% 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.