Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $173.74 and last traded at $173.76, with a volume of 131394 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $173.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.80.

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 capitalization of $98.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $158.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.12.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total transaction of $88,785.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,922 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,967.06. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.43, for a total transaction of $1,354,297.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 147,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,247,181.82. This trade represents a 5.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 68,268 shares of company stock worth $11,262,789. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 21.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.1% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 69,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,150,000 after buying an additional 3,381 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 13.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,040,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $167,199,000 after buying an additional 126,132 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.8% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,676,000 after buying an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 13.8% during the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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.