Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Sold by Parnassus Investments LLC

Key Points

• Parnassus Investments LLC cut its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,060,710 shares and leaving it with 5.44 million shares valued at about $880.5 million.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 versus $2.23 expected and revenue of $3.67 billion, up 20.4% year over year.
• Despite some recent insider sales and a mixed analyst note, Wall Street still has a Moderate Buy consensus on ICE, with an average price target of $193.

Parnassus Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,436,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,060,710 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange comprises 2.3% of Parnassus Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.96% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $880,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 191,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,041,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742 shares during the period. M&G PLC increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 107,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,988,000 after acquiring an additional 16,635 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter worth $2,788,000. Dover Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter worth $710,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 284.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 43,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,098,000 after acquiring an additional 32,295 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $138.99 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $154.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.41. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.67 and a 1 year high of $189.35. The company has a market capitalization of $78.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. 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 research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.00.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total transaction of $663,798.82. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,081,939.98. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total transaction of $390,033.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. The trade was a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,860,424. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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