Howard Capital Management Group LLC Sells 3,262 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Howard Capital Management Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 204,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,262 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for approximately 2.1% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $33,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ICE. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,816,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,181,125,000 after acquiring an additional 194,325 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067,922 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,028,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,238,000 after purchasing an additional 928,047 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 5,677,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $956,506,000 after purchasing an additional 364,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,967,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $836,852,000 after purchasing an additional 148,923 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE:ICE opened at $163.02 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $161.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.63. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.17 and a twelve month high of $189.35. The stock has a market cap of $92.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 36.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ICE. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays set a $193.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.20.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total transaction of $2,070,340.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 54,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,357,521.34. This trade represents a 19.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 12,861 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $2,122,065.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 165,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,339,180. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.