Legal & General Group Plc Sells 1,051,582 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,340,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,051,582 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.58% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $497,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Commons Capital LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Commons Capital LLC now owns 5,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE ICE opened at $154.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.78 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.34 and a 52-week high of $177.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.75.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ICE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.47.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the president now owns 147,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,247,181.82. This represents a 5.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total value of $88,785.73. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,967.06. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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.