World Investment Advisors Lowers Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

World Investment Advisors decreased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 75.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,021 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $1,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ICE. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE stock opened at $156.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.34 and a 52-week high of $177.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.80.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total value of $88,785.73. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,967.06. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total value of $835,506.99. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 66,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,821,819.32. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,563 shares of company stock valued at $10,998,990. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.47.

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.