Legato Capital Management LLC Has $1.49 Million Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Legato Capital Management cut its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 9,174 shares worth about $1.49 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive: analysts rate ICE a Buy overall, with a consensus price target of $194.60. Several firms recently reiterated or raised targets, including Piper Sandler at $211.
• ICE reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.35 versus estimates of $2.23 and revenue of $3.67 billion, up 20.4% year over year. The company also noted product expansion, including new futures tied to battery materials and a partnership with OKX for perpetual futures on crude benchmarks.

Legato Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 48.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,598 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ICE. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $211.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.60.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, 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 directly owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at $10,081,939.98. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,945,604.96. The trade was a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,332 shares of company stock worth $1,794,334 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $153.09 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $158.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.07. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1-year low of $143.17 and a 1-year high of $189.35. The stock has a market cap of $86.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.96.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Intercontinental Exchange this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ICE and OKX announced plans to launch perpetual futures tied to ICE Brent Crude and WTI Crude benchmarks, extending ICE’s oil pricing products into a 24/7 crypto derivatives venue and potentially increasing the reach of its commodities franchise. ICE Brent and ICE WTI Perpetual Futures to Launch on OKX
• Positive Sentiment: ICE said it launched its first futures contracts based on battery materials, signaling continued product expansion beyond its traditional financial and energy offerings. Intercontinental Exchange: ICE Launches its first Futures Contracts Based on Battery Materials
• Positive Sentiment: ICE highlighted record all-contract open interest in its financials complex, which suggests strong trading activity and healthy demand for its market infrastructure products. Intercontinental Exchange: ICE Financials Complex Helps Drive Record All Contract Open Interest at ICE

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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