Insider Selling: Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) CEO Sells 150,000 Shares of Stock

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) CEO Jeffrey Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $23,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,651,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,014,275. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.7%

ICE stock traded down $1.13 on Thursday, hitting $154.06. 3,726,714 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,237,940. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.85. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12-month low of $143.17 and a 12-month high of $189.35. The stock has a market cap of $87.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 33.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter worth $897,000. Rockland Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 127,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,507,000 after buying an additional 20,981 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,008,000 after buying an additional 3,261 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 203,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,325,000 after acquiring an additional 25,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 831,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,603,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ICE. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 target price on Intercontinental Exchange and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.40.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.