Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 23,611 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 296,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,611 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $38,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,919,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,162,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,034 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 219.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,146,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,336,371,000 after acquiring an additional 8,348,126 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,567,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $832,623,000 after acquiring an additional 282,963 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 21.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,073,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $668,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,536 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.7% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,847,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $533,292,000 after purchasing an additional 173,236 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

NYSE:ICE opened at $130.78 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.52. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.81 and a 52 week high of $140.43. The stock has a market cap of $74.89 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. This is a boost from Intercontinental Exchange’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $142.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $153.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.08.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.83, for a total transaction of $69,415.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,544,198.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.83, for a total transaction of $69,415.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,544,198.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth Kathryn King sold 3,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.03, for a total value of $499,469.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,276,461.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 157,491 shares of company stock valued at $21,454,204. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Company 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.