Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Boosts Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 9,030 shares to bring its total to 133,056 shares worth about $21.55 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive: analysts currently rate ICE a consensus “Buy,” with an average price target of $194.10. Recent notes included upgrades from Deutsche Bank and reaffirmed buy ratings from TD Cowen and UBS.
• ICE posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $2.35 versus estimates of $2.23 and revenue of $3.67 billion, up 20.4% year over year. Despite solid fundamentals, insiders have sold shares recently, including CTO Mayur Kapani’s sale of 4,271 shares.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,056 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,030 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $21,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ICE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ICE. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $194.10.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE stock opened at $154.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52 week low of $143.17 and a 52 week high of $189.35. The firm's fifty day moving average is $158.87 and its 200 day moving average is $159.96. The firm has a market cap of $87.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.96.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, 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 transaction of $663,798.82. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,081,939.98. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total transaction of $1,738,627.46. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,396.12. This represents a 44.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 39,956 shares of company stock worth $6,190,895 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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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