Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Position Trimmed by Ninety One UK Ltd

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its Intercontinental Exchange position by 4.4%, selling 65,383 shares and retaining 1.43 million shares valued at approximately $218.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.3% of ICE.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with ICE receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $186.31. Recent target changes ranged from $173 at Morgan Stanley to $236 at Bank of America.
• ICE shares recently rose 1.5% to $157.40. The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, reporting $1.90 in EPS versus a $1.84 estimate and $3.61 billion in revenue, up 4.8% year over year.

Ninety One UK Ltd decreased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,434,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 65,383 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.26% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $218,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% in the 4th 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. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the second quarter worth $6,245,085,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,966,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,196,758,000 after purchasing an additional 415,490 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 16.1% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,812,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,454,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,549,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,055,312,000 after purchasing an additional 409,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ICE shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $232.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $218.00 to $211.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $189.00 price target (up from $182.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.77, for a total transaction of $739,935.98. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 43,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,966,625.05. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.20, for a total transaction of $645,775.20. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 67,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,279,785.60. This represents a 5.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 41,179 shares of company stock worth $6,473,715 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of ICE stock traded up $2.29 on Thursday, reaching $157.40. 1,837,456 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,780,365. The company has a market capitalization of $88.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.94. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.79 and a 12-month high of $176.05. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $156.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.75.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc NYSE: ICE operates global exchanges, clearinghouses, data services and technology platforms. The company provides marketplaces and infrastructure that support the trading, clearing and management of risk across financial and commodity markets.

Its businesses include the New York Stock Exchange, ICE Futures exchanges and ICE Clear clearinghouses. ICE offers trading and clearing services for equities, equity options, interest rates, currencies, energy, agricultural commodities, metals and other contracts.

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