Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 125,601 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 125,601 additional shares. The fund now owns 1,735,277 shares valued at about $281.6 million.
• Institutional ownership in ICE remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 89.3% of the company’s stock. Several large investors, including J. Stern & Co., Norges Bank, and Viking Global, also reported major new or larger positions.
• Intercontinental Exchange beat expectations in its latest earnings report, posting $2.35 EPS on revenue of $3.67 billion, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating with a consensus target price of $193.

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,735,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 125,601 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.31% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $281,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $211.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price objective on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $201.00 price target (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.56, for a total transaction of $693,083.88. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 45,473 shares in the company, valued at $6,891,887.88. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at $2,280,848.56. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 13,425 shares of company stock worth $2,046,324 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE ICE opened at $133.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $75.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $151.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.60. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.84 and a twelve month high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. The firm 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%.The firm's revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange 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.

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