Navellier & Associates Inc. Cuts Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Navellier & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,395 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,520,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $726,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460,096 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,846,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,260,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401,630 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 2,293.3% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,185 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 285.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,756,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,265,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $865,455,000 after acquiring an additional 390,332 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ICE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.80.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 17,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total value of $2,849,868.48. Following the transaction, the president now owns 155,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,855,091.88. This trade represents a 9.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total transaction of $835,506.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 66,548 shares in the company, valued at $9,821,819.32. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 60,368 shares of company stock worth $9,908,492. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE opened at $168.04 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.34 and a 1 year high of $169.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.11.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is 37.66%.

Intercontinental Exchange 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.