Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $406.73 Million in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,729,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $406,728,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,647,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 73,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,787 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 33.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 46,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,500,000 after purchasing an additional 11,648 shares during the period. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth $702,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 728,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,515,000 after purchasing an additional 61,110 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of ICE stock opened at $171.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $158.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $98.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.34 and a 12 month high of $175.41.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 23.42%. Research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total transaction of $1,761,252.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,992 shares in the company, valued at $3,661,008.24. The trade was a 32.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total value of $88,785.73. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,922 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,967.06. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,268 shares of company stock worth $11,262,789 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% 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.