Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its ICE stake by 43.2% in the third quarter, selling 250,079 shares; it retained 328,654 shares valued at about $50 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.3% of ICE shares. Analysts give the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $189.25 average price target.
• ICE reported quarterly EPS of $2.02, above the $1.97 consensus, while revenue rose 14.7% year over year to $3.63 billion.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 43.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,654 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 250,079 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.06% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $49,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the second quarter worth $31,000. James T. Borello RIA boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 143.0% during the third quarter. James T. Borello RIA now owns 209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 64.4% during the third quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Intercontinental Exchange News

Here are the key news stories impacting Intercontinental Exchange this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ICE is expanding its energy markets with European wind futures, giving power-market participants a new way to hedge risks as renewable generation grows. The launch could broaden ICE’s product offering and create additional trading activity, though the financial impact was not specified. What Is Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Betting On With New European Wind Futures?
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain moderately optimistic about ICE’s outlook despite the stock’s underperformance relative to the broader market over the past year. Intercontinental Exchange Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: The New York Stock Exchange, an ICE business, plans to use Avalanche blockchain exclusively to settle tokenized stocks on a forthcoming 24/7 trading platform. The initiative signals a push into digital-market infrastructure, but its eventual adoption and revenue contribution remain uncertain. NYSE to Settle Tokenized Stocks on Avalanche Blockchain
• Neutral Sentiment: ICE’s Mortgage Monitor reported that 2.4 million mortgage holders are “equity millionaires,” with home equity reaching a record in the third quarter. This highlights a strong housing-equity backdrop, but the report does not indicate a direct near-term effect on ICE’s results. ICE Mortgage Monitor: 2.4 Million Mortgage Holders Are Equity Millionaires as Q3 Home Equity Hits Record High
• Negative Sentiment: ICE’s president sold about $1.28 million in company shares, and its chief accounting officer sold about $661,000. Insider sales can weigh on sentiment, although the reports do not give a reason for the transactions. ICE President Sells Stock

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ICE. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $173.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Argus cut their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $187.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $189.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.77, for a total value of $739,935.98. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 43,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,966,625.05. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 12,862 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.09, for a total transaction of $2,059,077.58. Following the sale, the president directly owned 164,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,297,023.76. This trade represents a 7.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 45,466 shares of company stock valued at $7,493,200 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:ICE opened at $176.19 on Wednesday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.79 and a 12-month high of $177.94. The firm has a market cap of $98.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $159.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.66.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 15.32% and a net margin of 29.62%. Intercontinental Exchange's revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. NYSE: ICE operates exchanges, clearing houses and technology businesses serving financial and commodity markets. Its platforms support the trading and clearing of futures, options and other products across areas such as energy, agriculture, interest rates and equities. The company also provides market data, analytics and connectivity services to financial institutions and other market participants. Intercontinental Exchange owns the New York Stock Exchange and operates exchanges and clearing houses in multiple markets around the world.

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