Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 309,098 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) by 62.2%, selling 309,098 shares during the second quarter, leaving it with 187,827 shares valued at approximately $34.5 million.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.81, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.77, and achieved a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.8%.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Jeffrey Sprecher selling 150,000 shares for approximately $27.5 million, which marks a 7.14% decrease in his ownership.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 62.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 187,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 309,098 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $34,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 1st quarter valued at $349,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,879 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at $28,949,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 52.3% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 0.3%

ICE stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $170.29. 4,228,054 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,750,103. The stock has a market cap of $97.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.29 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $179.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.01.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.66% and a net margin of 23.92%.The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 3,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.33, for a total value of $686,570.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 46,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,255,430.69. This represents a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.51, for a total transaction of $506,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,170,672.19. This trade represents a 13.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 231,669 shares of company stock worth $42,333,438. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ICE shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $180.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.92.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.