Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 8,028,036 Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,028,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,196,258,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.40% of Intercontinental Exchange as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ICE opened at $176.56 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.44 billion, a PE ratio of 36.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.34 and a 12-month high of $177.45. 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 (NYSE:ICE) last issued 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 net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. As a group, research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ICE. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,992 shares in the company, valued at $3,661,008.24. This trade represents a 32.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.43, for a total transaction of $1,354,297.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 147,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,247,181.82. This represents a 5.09 % 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 valued at $10,998,990 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.