Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Acquired by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 136.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 43,303 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 75,102 shares worth about $12.3 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $193.00, though opinions are mixed after a few recent target changes and a downgrade from Weiss Ratings.
• ICE reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.35 versus the $2.23 estimate and revenue of $3.67 billion, while also seeing insider selling from a director and the CTO in recent weeks.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 136.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 43,303 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $12,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $8,770,647,000 after purchasing an additional 413,639 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 valued at $4,154,914,000 after purchasing an additional 837,208 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,875,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,571,212,000 after purchasing an additional 158,450 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,744,480,000 after acquiring an additional 4,067,922 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,418,228,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.00.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE stock opened at $139.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $79.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.21. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52 week low of $136.67 and a 52 week high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $100,903.76. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total transaction of $663,798.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,081,939.98. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,092 shares of company stock worth $1,860,424 in the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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