ATLANTA & NEW YORK, U.S. – Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) announced its first quarter dividend will be $0.85 per share, up 13% from $0.75 per share in the fourth quarter of 2015. ICE expects the annual dividend for 2016 to be $3.40 per share, subject to quarterly board authorization.
“We believe in enhancing shareholder returns with a dividend that increases as earnings grow,” said Jeffrey C. Sprecher, ICE Chairman and CEO.
“At the same time, our strong cash flows will enable us to reduce our leverage to maintain our strong investment grade credit rating even as we continue to invest in key strategic initiatives to ensure we remain a growth company.”
The first quarter dividend is payable on March 31, 2016, to shareholders of record as of March 16, 2016. The ex-dividend date is March 14, 2016. The record and payable dates for the full year are expected to be as noted below, subject to board authorization.
During the year ended December 31, 2015, ICE paid dividends of $2.90 per share of common stock, including a quarterly dividend for the first quarter of 2015 of $0.65 per share and quarterly dividends for the subsequent quarters of $0.75 per share, for an aggregate payout of approximately $331 million in 2015.
