Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 240,693 shares valued at about $39 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to ICE holdings, and overall hedge funds and institutions own 89.30% of the stock.
• ICE reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 topping estimates and revenue rising 20.4% year over year to $3.67 billion.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 240,693 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 24,414 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $38,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter worth about $897,000. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 19.7% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 127,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,507,000 after purchasing an additional 20,981 shares during the period. M&G PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 107,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 16,635 shares during the period. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 15.9% during the third quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 31,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,308,000 after purchasing an additional 4,333 shares during the period. Finally, Bright Rock Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 50.0% during the third quarter. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,582,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 3,865 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.73, for a total transaction of $594,166.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 165,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,412,183.92. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,571 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total transaction of $740,502.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 48,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,805,322. The trade was a 8.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,956 shares of company stock valued at $6,190,895. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ICE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $211.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $194.10.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $154.18 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $158.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $87.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.96. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.17 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35.

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