Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 63,707 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 63,707 shares and ending with 2.89 million shares worth about $468.4 million.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported a strong quarter, posting $2.35 EPS versus the $2.23 consensus and revenue of $3.67 billion, up 20.4% year over year.
• Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with a Buy consensus and an average price target of $194.10; the shares were trading around $155.65 in the article.

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,891,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 63,707 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for approximately 0.7% of Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $468,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,153,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,770,647,000 after acquiring an additional 413,639 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,816,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,181,125,000 after purchasing an additional 194,325 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,744,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067,922 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 15.2% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,028,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,184,238,000 after purchasing an additional 928,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 6.9% during the third quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 5,677,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $956,506,000 after buying an additional 364,227 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 0.5%

ICE stock opened at $155.65 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $159.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.17 and a twelve month high of $189.35. The stock has a market cap of $88.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.96.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total value of $2,070,340.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 54,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,357,521.34. The trade was a 19.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total value of $740,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 48,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,805,322. This represents a 8.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 330,835 shares of company stock worth $51,275,650 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ICE. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $201.00 price objective (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $194.10.

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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