Independent Franchise Partners LLP Has $782.57 Million Stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 4.83 million shares valued at about $782.6 million. The stock now makes up roughly 5% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Several other major institutional investors also added to their positions, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 89.30% of ICE shares. Notable holders include Vanguard, State Street, Morgan Stanley, and Wellington Management.
• ICE beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $2.35 EPS on $3.67 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $193. Despite this, the stock was trading down and recently opened near its 1-year low.

Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,831,853 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 49,928 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange makes up approximately 5.0% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned 0.85% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $782,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,153,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,770,647,000 after acquiring an additional 413,639 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $8,763,214,000 after acquiring an additional 53,798,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,653,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,154,914,000 after acquiring an additional 837,208 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,875,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,571,212,000 after acquiring an additional 158,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,744,480,000 after acquiring an additional 4,067,922 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ICE shares. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $201.00 target price (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.00.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of ICE stock opened at $134.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $76.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.94. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.73 and a 1-year high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.56, for a total value of $693,083.88. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 45,473 shares in the company, valued at $6,891,887.88. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,081,939.98. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 13,425 shares of company stock worth $2,046,324 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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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