Ninety One UK Ltd Acquires 56,396 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.7% in Q4, acquiring 56,396 shares to hold 1,595,231 shares (≈0.28% of the company) valued at about $258.36 million.
• Insider selling has been notable recently—insiders sold 348,418 shares worth roughly $54.2 million over the past 90 days—while institutional investors own 89.30% of the stock and insiders hold 0.84%.
• Analyst consensus is a "Buy" with an average price target of $193.80, and ICE recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.71 vs. $1.67) while reporting $3.14 billion in revenue, up 7.8% year-over-year.

Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,595,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 56,396 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.28% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $258,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,816,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,181,125,000 after acquiring an additional 194,325 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,744,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067,922 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 15.2% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,028,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,184,238,000 after purchasing an additional 928,047 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 6.9% in the third quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 5,677,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $956,506,000 after purchasing an additional 364,227 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.1% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,967,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $836,852,000 after purchasing an additional 148,923 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total value of $1,738,627.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,396.12. This trade represents a 44.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,055,992.38. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 348,418 shares of company stock valued at $54,196,631. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on ICE shares. Wall Street Zen raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $161.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $159.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.19. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52-week low of $143.17 and a 52-week high of $189.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.05%.

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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