Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 315,357 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia significantly reduced its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 71.8%, now owning 123,777 shares after selling 315,357 shares in the first quarter.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported an earnings per share of $1.81 for the recent quarter, beating estimates and showing a 9.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.0%, with a payout ratio of 39.75%.

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 71.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 315,357 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $21,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ICE. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 132.9% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,121,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,359,173,000 after acquiring an additional 5,204,309 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,422,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,953,000 after purchasing an additional 655,247 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 6,160,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $918,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062,904 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 50.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,933,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,023,534,000 after buying an additional 1,993,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,721,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $852,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,965 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ICE. Barclays lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $180.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.22, for a total transaction of $26,883,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,101,705 shares in the company, valued at $376,667,570.10. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 794 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $146,890.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,628,110. The trade was a 5.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 226,913 shares of company stock valued at $40,671,107 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Intercontinental Exchange stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.07. 2,690,504 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,996,050. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.11. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.29 and a 12 month high of $189.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $181.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.90.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.85%.

Intercontinental Exchange Profile

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.