Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Holdings Reduced by Montag & Caldwell LLC

Montag & Caldwell LLC reduced its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 85,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,292 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for about 2.7% of Montag & Caldwell LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $12,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,228,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,782,521,000 after buying an additional 538,670 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,883,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,765,317,000 after acquiring an additional 327,637 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $1,196,258,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 6,160,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $918,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062,904 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 8.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,265,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $865,455,000 after acquiring an additional 390,332 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $159.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.54. The firm has a market cap of $91.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.37, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.34 and a 52-week high of $177.45.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 23.42%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ICE. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.47.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total transaction of $88,785.73. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,967.06. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $1,761,252.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,661,008.24. The trade was a 32.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,563 shares of company stock valued at $10,998,990 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.