Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,473 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 653,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,473 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $97,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ICE. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Barclays raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ICE traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $168.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,853,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,404,252. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.34 and a twelve month high of $169.78. 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 $96.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.11. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $155.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.18.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. On average, equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 17,104 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total transaction of $2,849,868.48. Following the transaction, the president now owns 155,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,855,091.88. The trade was a 9.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $1,761,252.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,661,008.24. The trade was a 32.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,196 shares of company stock valued at $10,840,972. Corporate insiders own 1.10% 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.