Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 14,216 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. by 7.0% during the first quarter, holding 188,362 shares valued at approximately $32.49 million after selling 14,216 shares.
• Several large investors increased their holdings in ICE, with Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosting its stake by 491.3% to 6,433,497 shares.
• Intercontinental Exchange declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, scheduled for payment on September 30th, reflecting a 1.1% yield and a payout ratio of 36.85%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,216 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $32,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ICE. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth $447,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,422,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,953,000 after acquiring an additional 655,247 shares in the last quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 185,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,622,000 after acquiring an additional 99,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 49,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,434,000 after acquiring an additional 3,203 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on ICE shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $180.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.92.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.09, for a total value of $27,463,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,951,705 shares in the company, valued at $357,337,668.45. This trade represents a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 1,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total value of $280,166.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,944,815.70. This represents a 6.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 449,993 shares of company stock valued at $81,486,507. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of ICE stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $176.60. 1,775,543 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,983,823. The stock's 50-day moving average is $182.10 and its 200-day moving average is $174.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $101.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.11. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.29 and a 52 week high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.66% and a net margin of 23.92%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

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.