Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Grows Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 35,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,474 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $5,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ICE. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 128.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 26,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of ICE stock opened at $161.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $91.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.04. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $143.17 and a 1 year high of $189.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is presently 33.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ICE shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays set a $193.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $194.73.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 12,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $2,122,065.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 165,692 shares in the company, valued at $27,339,180. The trade was a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total transaction of $2,358,319.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,055,992.38. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 348,418 shares of company stock valued at $54,196,631 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Profile

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.