KBC Group NV Trims Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.5% in Q4, selling 50,391 shares and ending the quarter with 221,877 shares valued at about $35.94 million.
• Analysts are broadly positive on ICE — the stock has a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $193.80, and firms including UBS and Morgan Stanley recently raised targets (UBS $200, Morgan Stanley to $187).
• ICE beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $1.71 (vs. $1.67 est.) and revenue of $3.14B (vs. $2.51B est.), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 ($2.08 annualized, ~1.3% yield).

KBC Group NV lowered its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 50,391 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $35,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 59.5% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ICE. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:ICE opened at $163.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $160.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.24. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12-month low of $143.17 and a 12-month high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Intercontinental Exchange's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is presently 36.05%.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 3,865 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.73, for a total transaction of $594,166.45. Following the sale, the president directly owned 165,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,412,183.92. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total transaction of $740,502.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 48,181 shares in the company, valued at $7,805,322. The trade was a 8.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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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