Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management boosted its Intercontinental Exchange stake by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 53,037 shares valued at about $8.59 million.
• Intercontinental Exchange reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 beating estimates and revenue of $3.67 billion, up 20.4% year over year.
• Wall Street remains upbeat on ICE, with several firms reiterating buy/overweight ratings and an average price target of $194.60, though some insiders recently sold shares.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,520 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $8,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 191,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,041,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 19.7% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 127,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,507,000 after buying an additional 20,981 shares during the period. M&G PLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 107,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,988,000 after buying an additional 16,635 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter valued at $2,788,000. Finally, Dover Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter valued at $710,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE opened at $141.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $155.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $80.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.92. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.67 and a 1 year high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.Intercontinental Exchange's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ICE. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $211.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $201.00 price objective (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total value of $663,798.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,001 shares of company stock worth $1,847,820 in the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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