Equitable Trust Co. Sells 23,258 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. cut its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 69.5%, selling 23,258 shares and leaving 10,188 shares valued at about $1.65 million.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Buy on ICE with a $194.10 average price target after multiple upgrades and higher targets from firms including Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Piper Sandler.
• ICE beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.35 vs $2.23; revenue $3.67B, +20.4% YoY), yet the stock trades near $153.57 and insiders have sold roughly 343,696 shares (~$53.4M) in the past 90 days.

Equitable Trust Co. cut its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,258 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $1,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter worth $32,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $201.00 target price (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $211.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.10.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 1.1%

ICE stock opened at $153.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.96. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $143.17 and a 1-year high of $189.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $160.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.99.

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

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total transaction of $383,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,262,566. This represents a 8.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total value of $1,738,627.46. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,194,396.12. This trade represents a 44.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 343,696 shares of company stock valued at $53,397,715 in the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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.