Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Lowers Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. has decreased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. by 12.7%, reducing its ownership to approximately 414,740 shares valued at $71,542,000.
• Insider transactions revealed that General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 3,848 shares of the company, while SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares, representing decreases of 7.35% and 5.53% in their respective positions.
• Intercontinental Exchange's stock has a market cap of $105.84 billion and recently reported earnings of $1.72 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.70.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lessened its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 414,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 60,293 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange comprises approximately 1.7% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned about 0.07% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $71,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,459,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth approximately $833,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 7,658.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 9,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,376,000 after buying an additional 9,113 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE ICE traded up $1.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $186.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,493,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,977,488. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.11. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.29 and a 12 month high of $187.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $180.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.55.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.02. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is 39.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO James W. Namkung sold 612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $110,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 13,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,379,600. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 3,848 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.12, for a total transaction of $689,253.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 48,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,683,737.60. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 226,913 shares of company stock worth $40,671,107 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $180.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.42.

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.