HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 6,854 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 6,854 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 244,526 shares valued at about $39.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted positions in ICE, and overall 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutions. This suggests the company remains heavily held by professional investors.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 beating estimates and revenue rising 20.4% year over year to $3.67 billion. Analysts remain broadly positive, with an average rating of “Buy” and a price target of $194.60.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 244,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,854 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $39,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,892,000 after purchasing an additional 4,628 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 266,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,894,000 after purchasing an additional 6,373 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total value of $740,502.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 48,181 shares in the company, valued at $7,805,322. The trade was a 8.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,332 shares of company stock worth $1,794,334. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $211.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $194.60.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of ICE opened at $151.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.96. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $143.17 and a 1 year high of $189.35. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $158.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.02. 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 (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 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 company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. Intercontinental Exchange's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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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