Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Makes New $3.46 Million Investment in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 23,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,459,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ICE. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Commons Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.43, for a total value of $1,354,297.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 147,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,247,181.82. The trade was a 5.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ICE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE stock opened at $174.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $100.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.56. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.34 and a 1-year high of $177.45.

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 return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 23.42%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors 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 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Intercontinental Exchange 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.