Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Reduces Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co cut its Intercontinental Exchange stake by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 14,500 shares and ending with 133,300 shares valued at about $21.6 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on ICE, with a consensus Buy rating and average price target of $194.60. Recent notes from Morgan Stanley, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, and Deutsche Bank included target-price increases or upgraded ratings.
• Insider selling has also been notable, with CTO Mayur Kapani and General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski both selling shares in recent transactions. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,001 shares worth $1.85 million.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,500 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $21,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note 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 research note on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total value of $663,798.82. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,081,939.98. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 45,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,891,887.88. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,001 shares of company stock worth $1,847,820 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of ICE opened at $147.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $157.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.16.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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