Legal & General Group Plc Purchases New Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 3.43 million shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter, valued at approximately $422 million and representing about 0.61% of the company.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported quarterly EPS of $1.90, exceeding estimates of $1.84, while revenue reached $3.61 billion and increased 4.8% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $183.33; however, company insiders sold shares worth about $2.6 million over the past 90 days.

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,427,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $422,000,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.61% of Intercontinental Exchange at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the second quarter valued at approximately $71,779,000. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,929,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $162,000. Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter valued at $20,435,000. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,771,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $161.93 on Wednesday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.79 and a twelve month high of $179.20. The firm has a market cap of $90.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. Analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $177.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $256,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,463 shares in the company, valued at $2,794,080. This represents a 8.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.20, for a total transaction of $645,775.20. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 67,988 shares in the company, valued at $10,279,785.60. This trade represents a 5.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 17,227 shares of company stock valued at $2,598,301 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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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