Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $147.92.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $131.28 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1 year low of $103.81 and a 1 year high of $140.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.17. The company has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.48. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 24.24% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 41.28%.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, major shareholder Intercontinental Exchange, Inc acquired 2,762,009 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $0.87 per share, with a total value of $2,402,947.83. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 7,476,345 shares in the company, valued at $6,504,420.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Elizabeth Kathryn King sold 3,783 shares of the company’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 $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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Intercontinental Exchange, Inc acquired 2,762,009 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $0.87 per share, for a total transaction of $2,402,947.83. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 7,476,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,504,420.15. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 157,832 shares of company stock valued at $21,499,127 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 219.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,146,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,336,371,000 after acquiring an additional 8,348,126 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at $839,259,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,643,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,238,559,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530,119 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 303.1% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,381,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,832,000 after buying an additional 1,790,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 8,429,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,646,000 after buying an additional 1,621,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

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.