M&G PLC Purchases 16,635 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

M&G PLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 107,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,635 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $17,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 67,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 1,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.52, for a total value of $269,960.40. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 44,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,743,214.24. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 12,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $2,122,065.00. Following the sale, the president owned 165,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,339,180. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 181,570 shares of company stock worth $28,077,452. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ICE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.40.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $152.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $86.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $165.15 and its 200 day moving average is $165.14. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52 week low of $143.17 and a 52 week high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.28%.

Intercontinental Exchange Profile

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.