Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $181.63 and last traded at $180.50, with a volume of 454310 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $178.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ICE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $189.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.46.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $103.81 billion, a PE ratio of 37.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $171.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.33.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CAO James W. Namkung sold 612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $110,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,220 shares in the company, valued at $2,379,600. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $418,170.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,396,876. The trade was a 10.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 227,954 shares of company stock worth $40,796,663. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth about $1,196,258,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 491.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,433,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,109,780,000 after buying an additional 5,345,388 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 132.9% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,121,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,173,000 after buying an additional 5,204,309 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 423.8% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,546,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $677,465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,678,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 1st quarter valued at about $575,383,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company 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.