Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 31,445 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 630,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,445 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.11% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $106,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter valued at about $897,000. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 19.7% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 127,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,507,000 after buying an additional 20,981 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $2,008,000 after buying an additional 3,261 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 25,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 831,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,603,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $159.12 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $164.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.21. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1-year low of $143.17 and a 1-year high of $189.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $90.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.03.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $383,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,262,566. The trade was a 8.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total transaction of $2,070,340.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 54,319 shares in the company, valued at $8,357,521.34. This trade represents a 19.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 348,418 shares of company stock valued at $54,196,631. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ICE. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays set a $193.00 target price on Intercontinental Exchange and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.73.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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.