B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 18,817 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 25.4%, selling 18,817 shares and leaving 55,176 shares worth about $8.94 million at quarter end.
• Significant insider selling occurred: CEO Jeffrey Sprecher sold 150,000 shares for $23.25 million and the CTO sold 15,213 shares, with insiders selling 348,418 shares (~$54.2 million) in the past 90 days while owning 0.84% of the stock.
• ICE beat quarterly expectations (EPS $1.71 vs. $1.67; revenue $3.14B, up 7.8% YoY) and maintains a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Buy" with a $193.80 average price target.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,817 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $8,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 59.5% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $23,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,651,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,014,275. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total value of $2,358,319.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,055,992.38. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE ICE opened at $157.44 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.17 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.06.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Intercontinental Exchange's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.05%.

Intercontinental Exchange Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.