Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Short Interest Update

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,300,000 shares, a decrease of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 6,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of ICE stock traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $171.30. 3,877,203 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,796,934. 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 $167.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.65. The company has a market capitalization of $98.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. Intercontinental Exchange has a fifty-two week low of $124.34 and a fifty-two week high of $177.45.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its 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%. Research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 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. decreased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.80.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total transaction of $88,785.73. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was 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 owns 66,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 43.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 3,147 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 3,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter valued at about $372,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter valued at about $516,000. Finally, Timber Creek Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.6% during the third quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 37,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,974,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.