Brokerages Set Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Price Target at $183.33

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $183.3333.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price objective on Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 1.0%

ICE stock opened at $160.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange has a twelve month low of $121.79 and a twelve month high of $177.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, Director Martha A. Tirinnanzi sold 1,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.16, for a total value of $215,954.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $603,866.52. This represents a 26.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.77, for a total value of $739,935.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 43,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,966,625.05. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 23,141 shares of company stock worth $3,554,192 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,892,000 after purchasing an additional 4,628 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 266,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,894,000 after purchasing an additional 6,373 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.