137,471 Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments cut its Intercontinental Exchange stake by 18.6%, selling 137,471 shares in the third quarter. It held 600,580 shares, valued at about $91.3 million, after the sale.
• Institutional ownership remains high: hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.3% of ICE shares. Other major investors, including Wellington Management and Amundi, increased their positions.
• ICE beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.02 in EPS versus analysts’ $1.97 estimate, while revenue rose 14.7% year over year to $3.63 billion. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $189.25.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 18.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 600,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 137,471 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.11% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $91,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ICE. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,245,085,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,966,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,196,758,000 after buying an additional 415,490 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,812,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,454,209,000 after buying an additional 1,634,385 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,997,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $785,941,000 after buying an additional 1,656,220 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $714,869,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 0.3%

ICE traded up $0.57 on Friday, hitting $178.43. The company had a trading volume of 2,203,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,534,859. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.84. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.79 and a 52-week high of $181.38.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.05. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 15.32% and a net margin of 29.62%. The firm had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Top Intercontinental Exchange Stories

These are some of the ICE stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is favorable: ICE has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $189.25, above the roughly $178 share price cited in the coverage. Article: Intercontinental Exchange stock has consensus price target of $189.25
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis remained bullish after ICE’s recent rally, supporting the longer-term outlook but noting a substantial run-up that could temper near-term upside. Article: Intercontinental Exchange: Still a Buy After the 18% Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Three insiders disclosed stock sales: CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,272 shares, General Counsel Andrew Surdykowski sold 4,575, and Director Sharon Bowen sold 2,100. Each retained shares, but the transactions could be a modest negative sentiment signal. SEC filing: Mayur Kapani transaction SEC filing: Andrew Surdykowski transaction SEC filing: Sharon Bowen transaction

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ICE shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $167.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $189.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher Edmonds sold 5,000 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.59, for a total transaction of $802,950.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $2,307,196.53. The trade was a 25.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO James Namkung sold 3,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $660,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,806,875. The trade was a 26.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 56,272 shares of company stock worth $9,403,571 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. NYSE: ICE operates exchanges, clearing houses and technology businesses serving financial and commodity markets. Its platforms support the trading and clearing of futures, options and other products across areas such as energy, agriculture, interest rates and equities. The company also provides market data, analytics and connectivity services to financial institutions and other market participants. Intercontinental Exchange owns the New York Stock Exchange and operates exchanges and clearing houses in multiple markets around the world.

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