Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Stock Position Cut by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. by 67.1%, now holding around 1.3% of the company's shares, making it their 10th largest position.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported $1.81 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenue reaching $3.26 billion, a 9.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, yielding 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 36.85%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 67.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,497,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,049,305 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange comprises approximately 1.3% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 0.26% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $258,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ICE. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 116.7% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 187.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 595.8% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 167 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ICE. Barclays upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $180.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.92.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:ICE traded down $1.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $181.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,840,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,072,402. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $182.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.29 and a twelve month high of $189.35. The stock has a market cap of $103.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.11.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.66% and a net margin of 23.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO James W. Namkung sold 612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $110,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,220 shares in the company, valued at $2,379,600. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.30, for a total value of $145,723.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,500. This trade represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 443,488 shares of company stock worth $80,323,823. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.