Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Sold by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank lessened its stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 25.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,694 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $10,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ICE. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 54,107,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,763,214,000 after purchasing an additional 53,798,055 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,245,085,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 3.4% during the 4th 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,812,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,454,209,000 after buying an additional 1,634,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,907,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,280,688,000 after buying an additional 878,435 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $151.50. The company had a trading volume of 884,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,825,024. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $155.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.91. The stock has a market cap of $85.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.79 and a 1-year high of $176.05.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Intercontinental Exchange's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,574 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.77, for a total transaction of $739,935.98. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 43,065 shares in the company, valued at $6,966,625.05. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Martha A. Tirinnanzi sold 1,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.16, for a total transaction of $215,954.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $603,866.52. This trade represents a 26.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,179 shares of company stock worth $6,473,715. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ICE shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $218.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.77.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc NYSE: ICE operates global exchanges, clearinghouses, data services and technology platforms. The company provides marketplaces and infrastructure that support the trading, clearing and management of risk across financial and commodity markets.

Its businesses include the New York Stock Exchange, ICE Futures exchanges and ICE Clear clearinghouses. ICE offers trading and clearing services for equities, equity options, interest rates, currencies, energy, agricultural commodities, metals and other contracts.

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