Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Acquired by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital slightly increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, adding 10,307 shares in the fourth quarter and ending with 2.43 million shares valued at about $393 million.
• Other major institutional investors also adjusted holdings, and institutional ownership remains very high at 89.30% of the company’s shares.
• ICE reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 and revenue of $3.67 billion, both beating expectations; analysts still view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $193.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,426,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,307 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.43% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $392,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 191,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,041,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742 shares during the period. M&G PLC increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 107,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,988,000 after acquiring an additional 16,635 shares during the period. Dover Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter valued at about $710,000. Advisors Preferred LLC increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 284.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 43,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,098,000 after acquiring an additional 32,295 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,153,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,770,647,000 after acquiring an additional 413,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ICE shares. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.00.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $140.26 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $154.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.67 and a 12 month high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 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 analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 15,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,280,848.56. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,945,604.96. This trade represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 12,092 shares of company stock worth $1,860,424 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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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