Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 893,948 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 372,030 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.16% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $133,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 73,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,787 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 46,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,500,000 after purchasing an additional 11,648 shares in the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth about $702,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 728,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $108,515,000 after buying an additional 61,110 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $155.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,786,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,917,672. The business has a 50-day moving average of $167.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.34 and a 1 year high of $177.45. The company has a market cap of $89.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) 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, equities research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ICE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total transaction of $88,785.73. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,908,967.06. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total value of $835,506.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 66,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,821,819.32. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990 in the last three months. Company 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.