Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 20.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,433,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 628,301 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange makes up about 0.8% of Bessemer Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $419,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 687 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.48, for a total transaction of $283,968.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,313 shares in the company, valued at $4,847,511.24. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 552 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.52, for a total transaction of $96,335.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,732,634.16. This represents a 3.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 227,954 shares of company stock worth $40,796,663. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ICE shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $189.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.46.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Intercontinental Exchange stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Thursday, hitting $180.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,504,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,004,583. The stock has a market cap of $103.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's 50 day moving average is $174.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.21 and a 1 year high of $181.99.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.75%.

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.