Premier Fund Managers Ltd Sells 427,140 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd trimmed its position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 88.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 427,140 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $8,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,228,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,782,521,000 after buying an additional 538,670 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,651,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,799,393,000 after purchasing an additional 281,503 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,555,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,848,868,000 after acquiring an additional 169,922 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,196,258,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $865,455,000 after acquiring an additional 390,332 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.71, for a total transaction of $965,757.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 164,041 shares in the company, valued at $27,183,234.11. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total transaction of $1,761,252.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,661,008.24. This represents a 32.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,563 shares of company stock valued at $10,998,990 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ICE. Barclays raised their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE opened at $176.56 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.34 and a 1-year high of $177.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $166.61 and a 200-day moving average of $160.48. 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 company has a market capitalization of $101.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.94, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS 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%. Equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

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.