Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.9% in Q4, selling 30,878 shares but still holding 3.59 million shares worth about $581 million.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $2.35 versus estimates of $2.23 and revenue of $3.67 billion, up 20.4% year over year.
• Analysts remain constructive on ICE, with an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $194.60; several firms recently reiterated or raised bullish targets.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,587,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,878 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.63% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $581,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE ICE opened at $153.09 on Tuesday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1-year low of $143.17 and a 1-year high of $189.35. The company has a market capitalization of $86.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $158.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Intercontinental Exchange's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $194.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total transaction of $663,798.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,081,939.98. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,945,604.96. The trade was a 9.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,332 shares of company stock valued at $1,794,334. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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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