Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Key Points

• Franklin Resources trimmed its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 8.1% in Q3, selling 340,017 shares and holding 3,878,987 shares (about 0.68% of the company) worth roughly $653.5 million.
• Mixed investor activity: insiders sold a total of 350,018 shares (~$54.5 million) over the last quarter, while large institutions such as Vanguard, Capital World Investors and Sands Capital raised positions and Norges Bank initiated a new ~$1.54 billion holding.
• Solid financials and outlook: ICE beat quarterly EPS and revenue expectations (EPS $1.71 vs $1.67 est.; revenue $3.14B), has a market cap of ~$89.1B, declared a $0.52 quarterly dividend (1.3% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Buy" with a $194.73 target.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,878,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 340,017 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.68% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $653,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,685,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,849,677,000 after purchasing an additional 745,135 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,438,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,270,657,000 after purchasing an additional 145,961 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter valued at $1,542,780,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 928,047 shares during the period. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 97.3% during the second quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 5,313,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $974,783,000 after buying an additional 2,620,310 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE stock opened at $156.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $89.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $164.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.50. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 12,861 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $2,122,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 165,692 shares in the company, valued at $27,339,180. The trade was a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total transaction of $2,358,319.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,055,992.38. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 350,018 shares of company stock valued at $54,457,751 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ICE. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays set a $193.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.73.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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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