Barclays Raises Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Price Target to $198.00

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Barclays from $193.00 to $198.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 18.02% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:ICE traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $167.77. The company had a trading volume of 903,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,834,748. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $160.87 and a 200 day moving average of $160.35. The company has a market cap of $95.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.03. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1 year low of $143.17 and a 1 year high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued 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 company had revenue of $3.14 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 12,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $2,122,065.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 165,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,339,180. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $23,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,651,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,014,275. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter valued at about $897,000. Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 127,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,507,000 after purchasing an additional 20,981 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 203,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,325,000 after purchasing an additional 25,980 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 3,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 107,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 16,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

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.