Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Shares Sold by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 70.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 94,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 220,440 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $14,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ICE shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.47.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $155.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $166.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.41. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.34 and a 52-week 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 quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company 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 $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 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 17,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total value of $2,849,868.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 155,174 shares in the company, valued at $25,855,091.88. This represents a 9.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 4,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.60, for a total transaction of $688,068.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,376 shares in the company, valued at $9,501,465.60. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,931 shares of company stock valued at $10,492,868. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.