The New York Stock Exchange and three affiliates have agreed to pay a $4.5 million penalty to settle federal regulators' charges that they repeatedly violated rules governing the handling of orders and other practices.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday the settlement with the NYSE, its trading platforms NYSE Arca and NYSE MKT, and affiliated brokerage Archipelago Securities. The organizations also agreed to hire an independent consultant. The NYSE and the three affiliates neither admitted nor denied the SEC allegations.

The SEC said the rule violations occurred from 2008 to 2012. They included operating a facility for trading blocks of stocks in a manner that didn't comply with the rules, according to the SEC.

The NYSE and the affiliates are owned by IntercontinentalExchange, or ICE.