National Pension Service Purchases 77,049 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service has increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. by 6.2%, acquiring an additional 77,049 shares, and now owns about 1,316,189 shares valued at $227 million.
• In recent insider trading, Director Sharon Bowen and General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold shares of ICE, collectively reducing their ownership significantly.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Intercontinental Exchange, with several institutions raising their price targets and maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

National Pension Service grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,316,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 77,049 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.23% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $227,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ICE. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 116.7% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 187.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 595.8% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 167 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ICE. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.92.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 3,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.12, for a total value of $689,253.76. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 48,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,683,737.60. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 794 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $146,890.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,628,110. The trade was a 5.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 443,488 shares of company stock valued at $80,323,823 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Intercontinental Exchange stock traded down $1.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $181.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,840,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,015,706. The firm has a market cap of $103.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.76, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $181.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.29 and a twelve month high of $189.35.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.85%.

Intercontinental Exchange 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.