Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires 47,163 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 726.7% in Q3, buying 47,163 shares to hold 53,653 shares valued at about $9.04 million.
• Insider selling was sizable: CEO Jeffrey Sprecher sold 150,000 shares (~$23.25M) and CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares, with insiders offloading 350,018 shares (~$54.46M) in the last quarter.
• Earnings and outlook topped estimates—ICE reported $1.71 EPS vs $1.67 expected and $3.14B revenue (up 7.8% YoY)—and pays a $0.52 quarterly dividend (1.3% yield) while analysts hold a consensus "Buy" with a $194.73 target.

Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 726.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 47,163 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $9,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,747,000 after buying an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE:ICE opened at $160.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $90.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business's 50-day moving average price is $164.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.53. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.17 and a twelve month high of $189.35.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is currently 33.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total value of $2,358,319.26. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,055,992.38. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $23,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,651,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,014,275. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 350,018 shares of company stock worth $54,457,751. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays set a $193.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.73.

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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