Employees Retirement System of Texas Lowers Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 59,700 shares and leaving it with 466,514 shares worth about $75.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment on ICE remains constructive, with multiple firms issuing or maintaining bullish ratings and the stock carrying a consensus Buy rating and average target price of $194.60.
• Intercontinental Exchange posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while insiders also trimmed positions; CFO Warren Gardiner and CTO Mayur Kapani both sold shares recently.

Employees Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 466,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 59,700 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.08% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $75,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Steph & Co. raised its position 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 period. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $201.00 target price (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of 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 equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.60.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total transaction of $390,033.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm's 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 transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at $10,081,939.98. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 11,332 shares of company stock valued at $1,794,334 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of ICE stock opened at $150.94 on Wednesday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.17 and a twelve month high of $189.35. The company has a market capitalization of $85.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.15.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The firm's revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ICE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.