Independent Franchise Partners LLP Boosts Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. by 0.5% during Q1, making it the largest stakeholder with approximately $1.07 billion in shares.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.30% of Intercontinental Exchange's stock, highlighting strong institutional interest in the company.
• Intercontinental Exchange announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1%, reflecting its strong financial performance and commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,192,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 31,588 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange comprises about 7.6% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 1.08% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $1,068,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 116.7% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 187.3% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 158 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 595.8% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ICE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $180.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.92.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock traded down $1.24 on Wednesday, hitting $177.50. 1,933,726 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,207,937. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a one year low of $142.29 and a one year high of $189.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $182.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.34. The company has a market capitalization of $101.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.66% and a net margin of 23.92%.The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is 36.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.48, for a total value of $283,968.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,847,511.24. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 1,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total value of $280,166.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,944,815.70. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 444,719 shares of company stock valued at $80,546,996. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.