Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Position Increased by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 282.3% in Q3, buying an additional 215,313 shares to hold 291,584 shares worth about $49.13 million.
• Company insiders sold a combined 350,018 shares over the past three months valued at roughly $54.46 million, leaving insiders with about 1.0% ownership.
• Intercontinental Exchange beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.71 (vs. $1.67 expected) and revenue of $3.14 billion, and analysts maintain an average "Buy" rating with a consensus target of $194.73.

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 282.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 291,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 215,313 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.05% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $49,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ICE. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 59.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 73.3% during the second quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 175 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 128.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 26,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total transaction of $2,070,340.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 54,319 shares in the company, valued at $8,357,521.34. This represents a 19.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total value of $1,738,627.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,266 shares in the company, valued at $2,194,396.12. The trade was a 44.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 350,018 shares of company stock valued at $54,457,751. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ICE. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated 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, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.73.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $156.96 on Thursday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12-month low of $143.17 and a 12-month high of $189.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.03.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is currently 36.05%.

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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