Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Grows Stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 58.7% in the first quarter, adding 59,750 shares to bring its total holding to 161,456 shares worth about $25.4 million.
• Institutional interest in ICE remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning 89.3% of the stock despite some recent insider selling by company executives and directors.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 and revenue of $3.67 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $188.58.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 58.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 59,750 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $25,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ICE. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 54,107,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,763,214,000 after acquiring an additional 53,798,055 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth about $1,418,228,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth about $777,926,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,744,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067,922 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 148.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,203,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914,851 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, Director William Jefferson Hague sold 1,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.46, for a total value of $185,900.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,132 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,608.72. This trade represents a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $663,798.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at $10,081,939.98. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 13,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,324 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ICE. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. Weiss Ratings lowered Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.58.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $132.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.46. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a one year low of $121.79 and a one year high of $189.35. 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 (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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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