Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Raises Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ICE. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 326.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,520,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $726,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460,096 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 44.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,846,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,260,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401,630 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,123,185 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 285.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,756,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 8.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,265,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $865,455,000 after acquiring an additional 390,332 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $173.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.52 billion, a PE ratio of 36.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.34 and a twelve month high of $173.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.76.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 23.42%. On average, equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.80.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, COO Stuart Glen Williams sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total value of $114,742.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,780 shares in the company, valued at $1,955,212.20. This represents a 5.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total transaction of $835,506.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 66,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,821,819.32. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,268 shares of company stock worth $11,262,789 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.