Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Bought by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,510 more shares and bringing its total to 111,178 shares worth about $18.0 million.
• Institutional interest in ICE remains strong, with several large investors increasing holdings and 89.30% of the stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $2.35 versus $2.23 expected and revenue of $3.67 billion, while analysts currently hold a consensus Buy rating and a $194.10 price target.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 111,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,510 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $18,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ICE. 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 worth $1,744,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067,922 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 179.1% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,472,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $416,544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586,620 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 28,886.8% during the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,526,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,467 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,527,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $571,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,967 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 15.2% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,028,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,184,238,000 after purchasing an additional 928,047 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total transaction of $2,358,319.26. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,055,992.38. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total transaction of $1,738,627.46. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,396.12. The trade was a 44.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 330,835 shares of company stock worth $51,275,650 in the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 1.2%

Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $157.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $89.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company's 50-day moving average price is $160.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.02. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52 week low of $143.17 and a 52 week high of $189.35.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ICE. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $211.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.10.

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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