Senator Investment Group LP Trims Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Senator Investment Group LP lowered its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 414,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93,851 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange makes up 1.8% of Senator Investment Group LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Senator Investment Group LP’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $61,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,196,258,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth $406,728,000. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2,293.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,171,000 after buying an additional 2,123,185 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 1,237.7% during the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,701,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $253,591,000 after buying an additional 1,574,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 6,160,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $918,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062,904 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.71, for a total value of $965,757.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 164,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,183,234.11. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 6,834 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.99, for a total transaction of $1,141,209.66. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,972 shares in the company, valued at $3,001,144.28. The trade was a 27.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,931 shares of company stock valued at $10,492,868 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ICE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.47.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $158.34 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $124.34 and a one year high of $177.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.47.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. 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.