LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Buys 4,341 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, owning 64,463 shares valued at approximately $11.12 million.
• CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of Intercontinental Exchange, a transaction valued at about $26.88 million, reducing his ownership by 6.66%.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Intercontinental Exchange, with multiple firms raising their price targets and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,341 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange makes up about 1.0% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $11,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tsfg LLC boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 187.3% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 158 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 595.8% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 116.7% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $182.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,072,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,858,742. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $181.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.23. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a one year low of $142.29 and a one year high of $189.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.11.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.92% and a return on equity of 13.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $180.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, CAO James W. Namkung sold 612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $110,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 13,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,379,600. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.48, for a total transaction of $283,968.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,313 shares in the company, valued at $4,847,511.24. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 443,488 shares of company stock worth $80,323,823 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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.