Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Intercontinental Exchange stake by 65.5% in the first quarter, selling 163,014 shares and leaving it with 85,725 shares worth about $13.5 million.
• Several company insiders sold shares recently, including General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski and Director Sharon Bowen, with insiders owning just 0.84% of the stock overall.
• ICE reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $2.35 and revenue of $3.67 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $189.36.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 65.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 163,014 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $13,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 191,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,041,000 after buying an additional 10,742 shares in the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 124,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,244,000 after buying an additional 15,129 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,153,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,770,647,000 after buying an additional 413,639 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 857.7% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,888,000 after buying an additional 10,438 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51,986.3% in the 4th quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 400,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,872,000 after purchasing an additional 399,775 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.56, for a total value of $693,083.88. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 45,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,891,887.88. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,324. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICE has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $193.00 to $153.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $211.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $189.36.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE ICE opened at $124.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $147.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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