Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys 3,678,384 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 423.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,546,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,678,384 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for about 2.2% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned 0.79% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $677,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,647,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 73,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,022,000 after acquiring an additional 4,787 shares in the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth about $702,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 728,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,515,000 after acquiring an additional 61,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,239,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,644,000 after purchasing an additional 198,311 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ICE has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total transaction of $1,761,252.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,661,008.24. This trade represents a 32.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of Intercontinental Exchange 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 owns 164,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,183,234.11. The trade was a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,931 shares of company stock worth $10,492,868 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE ICE opened at $163.07 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.34 and a twelve month 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. The stock has a market cap of $93.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.44.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.