Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $5,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,651,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,799,393,000 after acquiring an additional 281,503 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,555,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,848,868,000 after acquiring an additional 169,922 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,846,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,260,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401,630 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 7,838,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,259,213,000 after acquiring an additional 299,037 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,265,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $865,455,000 after acquiring an additional 390,332 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.71, for a total transaction of $965,757.88. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 164,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,183,234.11. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart Glen Williams sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total transaction of $114,742.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,955,212.20. This represents a 5.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,313 shares of company stock valued at $11,113,733 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $171.28 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.34 and a 52-week high of $175.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $161.47 and a 200-day moving average of $159.64. 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 (NYSE:ICE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Equities research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ICE shares. UBS Group upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange 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.