Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Raises Stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,206 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $17,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Prana Capital Management LP grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 17.9% in the third quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 564,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,126,000 after acquiring an additional 85,844 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,457,000. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter worth $51,553,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ICE. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price objective on 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, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total transaction of $2,070,340.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 54,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,357,521.34. This represents a 19.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 12,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 0.8%

ICE stock opened at $158.37 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.17 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $164.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.83. The company has a market capitalization of $89.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.05%.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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.