Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 48.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 2,269,826 shares valued at about $367.6 million.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $2.35 versus estimates of $2.23 and revenue of $3.67 billion, up 20.4% year over year.
• Despite the strong results, the stock was trading around $141.36, below recent averages, while analysts maintained a generally positive view with a Moderate Buy rating and an average target price of $194.60.

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 48.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,269,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 744,388 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $367,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICONIQ Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 6,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.5%

Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $141.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $79.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.72. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.67 and a 12 month high of $189.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total value of $663,798.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,081,939.98. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,280,848.56. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,001 shares of company stock worth $1,847,820. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $201.00 price objective (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.60.

Intercontinental Exchange 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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