Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Bought by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 10.4%, buying 7,160 shares to hold 76,124 shares valued at $12.423 million, while institutional investors now own 89.30% of the company.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares and President Benjamin Jackson sold 3,865 shares, with insiders offloading 343,696 shares worth about $53.4 million in the last three months (insiders own 0.84%).
• ICE beat quarterly expectations with $2.35 EPS (vs. $2.23 expected) and revenue of $3.67B (up 20.4%), and analysts hold a consensus Buy rating with a $194.10 price target.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,160 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $12,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $514,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,892,000 after purchasing an additional 4,628 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total value of $2,070,340.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 54,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,357,521.34. The trade was a 19.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 3,865 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.73, for a total transaction of $594,166.45. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 165,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,412,183.92. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 343,696 shares of company stock valued at $53,397,715 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $201.00 target price (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.10.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

NYSE ICE opened at $153.57 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $160.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.99. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12-month low of $143.17 and a 12-month high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. The firm 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 was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange 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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