Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Bought by Meitav Investment House Ltd.

Key Points

• Meitav Investment House Ltd. dramatically increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, buying 346,099 additional shares in the first quarter and lifting its holdings to 349,502 shares worth about $54.97 million.
• ICE reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.35 versus the $2.23 consensus and revenue of $3.67 billion, up 20.4% year over year.
• The stock has drawn mixed signals from insiders and analysts: insiders sold 13,425 shares over the past 90 days, while analysts still rate ICE a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $187.08.

Meitav Investment House Ltd. grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 10,170.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 346,099 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. owned 0.06% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $54,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 27.9% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,892,000 after acquiring an additional 4,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 266,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,894,000 after purchasing an additional 6,373 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:ICE traded up $2.67 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $137.59. 1,472,944 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,990,811. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.94. 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 $121.79 and a 12-month high of $189.35. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $144.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.42.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total transaction of $663,798.82. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,081,939.98. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 13,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,324 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.08.

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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