Candriam S.C.A. Grows Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 243,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 57,260 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $36,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,647,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 73,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,787 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 46,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,500,000 after purchasing an additional 11,648 shares during the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $702,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 728,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,515,000 after acquiring an additional 61,110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ICE opened at $171.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.34 and a twelve month high of $175.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $158.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the president now owns 147,274 shares in the company, valued at $25,247,181.82. This trade represents a 5.09 % 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 hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total value of $835,506.99. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 66,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,821,819.32. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,268 shares of company stock valued at $11,262,789 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ICE. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.80.

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.