Sandy Spring Bank Acquires 885 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Sandy Spring Bank lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $2,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ICE shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.80.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total value of $835,506.99. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 66,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,821,819.32. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the company’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 value of $1,761,252.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,661,008.24. The trade was a 32.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE stock opened at $175.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $100.90 billion, a PE ratio of 36.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $163.66 and a 200-day moving average of $160.00. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.34 and a 12-month high of $175.90.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released 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 net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio 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.