Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Raises Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,008 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $46,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Commons Capital LLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Commons Capital LLC now owns 5,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $175.61 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.34 and a twelve month high of $175.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.74, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $163.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.00.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,661,008.24. This trade represents a 32.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total value of $835,506.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly 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 90 days, insiders have sold 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ICE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.80.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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.