Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $61.86 Million Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its Intercontinental Exchange stake by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, but it still held 381,922 shares worth about $61.86 million and made ICE its 28th-largest holding.
• Insider selling continued at ICE, with President Benjamin Jackson and CTO Mayur Kapani both selling shares; insiders have sold 39,956 shares worth $6.19 million over the past three months.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts remain broadly positive with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $194.10.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lessened its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 381,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 43,823 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for 1.1% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned 0.07% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $61,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% during the second quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 6,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 3,865 shares of Intercontinental Exchange 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 owned 165,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,412,183.92. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total transaction of $663,798.82. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at $10,081,939.98. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,956 shares of company stock valued at $6,190,895. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $154.18 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $158.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.96. The company has a market cap of $87.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $143.17 and a 1 year high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. Intercontinental Exchange's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ICE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $211.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. 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. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.10.

Intercontinental Exchange 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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