Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 57,260 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 30.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 243,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,260 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $36,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 96.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.08, for a total transaction of $149,056.40. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 44,702 shares in the company, valued at $6,977,088.16. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total transaction of $835,506.99. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 66,548 shares in the company, valued at $9,821,819.32. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 68,268 shares of company stock valued at $11,262,789. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE ICE opened at $171.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $98.69 billion, a PE ratio of 35.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $158.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a one year low of $124.34 and a one year high of $175.41.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 23.42%. Analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ICE shares. Barclays raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.80.

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.