Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 113,304 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its Intercontinental Exchange stake by 3.9% in the first quarter, selling 113,304 shares and leaving it with 2,778,612 shares valued at about $437 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on ICE despite some price-target cuts, with analysts holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $181.58.
• ICE reported strong first-quarter results, earning $2.35 per share versus the $2.23 estimate, while revenue rose 20.4% year over year to $3.67 billion.

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,778,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 113,304 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for 0.7% of Bessemer Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $437,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,153,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,770,647,000 after purchasing an additional 413,639 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 54,107,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,763,214,000 after buying an additional 53,798,055 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,653,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,154,914,000 after buying an additional 837,208 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,875,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,571,212,000 after buying an additional 158,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,418,228,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.58.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE stock opened at $141.63 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $141.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.94. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.79 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange 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 transaction of $693,083.88. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 45,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,891,887.88. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total value of $663,798.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,081,939.98. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,425 shares of company stock worth $2,046,324. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.

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