Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $176.49 and last traded at $175.58, with a volume of 2777113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.80.

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Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

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 $100.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.54, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $167.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.56.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 23.42%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total value of $835,506.99. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 66,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,821,819.32. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.71, for a total transaction of $965,757.88. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 164,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,183,234.11. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.1% during the 4th 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 increased its stake 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 valued at $11,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,787 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 33.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $702,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.