Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Grows Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 475,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,842 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange makes up 1.4% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned 0.08% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $70,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,651,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,799,393,000 after acquiring an additional 281,503 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,555,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,848,868,000 after acquiring an additional 169,922 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 44.1% in 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 period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 4.0% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 7,838,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,213,000 after buying an additional 299,037 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 390,332 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $169.04 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $160.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.50. The company has a market cap of $97.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.34 and a 52-week high of $175.41. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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 research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 164,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,183,234.11. The trade was a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 66,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,821,819.32. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 67,313 shares of company stock worth $11,113,733. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ICE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.