Welch & Forbes LLC Acquires Shares of 1,663 Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Welch & Forbes LLC bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter worth $25,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 500 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,544,198.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,544,198.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Intercontinental Exchange, Inc bought 2,762,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $0.87 per share, for a total transaction of $2,402,947.83. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 7,476,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,504,420.15. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 157,832 shares of company stock worth $21,499,127. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of ICE stock traded down $0.53 on Wednesday, hitting $133.19. 435,856 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,395,222. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12 month low of $103.81 and a 12 month high of $140.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $134.78 and a 200 day moving average of $126.35. The stock has a market cap of $76.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is presently 41.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $135.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.92.

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.