2,557 Shares in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Acquired by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 2,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 41,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 124,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,643,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Atlas Private Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Management now owns 11,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Toews Corp ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter valued at $781,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.92. 593,373 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,354,243. The company has a market cap of $74.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.81 and a 52 week high of $140.43.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.91% and a return on equity of 12.91%. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Intercontinental Exchange’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Intercontinental Exchange, Inc bought 2,762,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $0.87 per share, for a total transaction of $2,402,947.83. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 7,476,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,504,420.15. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Intercontinental Exchange, Inc purchased 2,762,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $0.87 per share, for a total transaction of $2,402,947.83. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,476,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,504,420.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO James W. Namkung sold 1,182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.03, for a total transaction of $156,059.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 16,396 shares in the company, valued at $2,164,763.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 157,491 shares of company stock worth $21,454,204 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ICE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $142.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.08.

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.