Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,754,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,384 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.31% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $261,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ICE. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 96.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.71, for a total value of $965,757.88. Following the completion of the sale, the president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart Glen Williams sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total value of $114,742.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,955,212.20. This represents a 5.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,313 shares of company stock valued at $11,113,733. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of ICE stock opened at $171.28 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.34 and a 1-year high of $175.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $161.47 and its 200 day moving average is $159.64. The company has a market cap of $98.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.83, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

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.