Rathbones Group PLC Raises Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 4.4% to 589,217 shares (about $99.3M), and institutional investors now own roughly 89.3% of the company.
• ICE made a minority investment in crypto exchange OKX, securing a board seat and unveiling plans for NYSE-linked tokenized equities and licensed crypto price data, a strategic push into blockchain products that triggered sharp token rallies.
• Analysts are largely bullish—Deutsche Bank upgraded ICE to Buy with a $188 target and the consensus price target is $194.73—supported by a recent earnings and revenue beat and a market cap near $94.3B (PE ~28.8).

Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 589,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,942 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC owned about 0.10% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $99,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Knuff & Co LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 175 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 26,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 128.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Intercontinental Exchange this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ICE made a minority investment in OKX (implied OKX valuation $25B), secured a board seat and outlined plans to bring NYSE-linked tokenized equities, license OKX spot crypto price data for U.S. futures, and expand tokenized markets — a strategic push into blockchain-driven product revenue and distribution. NYSE Owner Invests in Crypto Exchange OKX (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank upgraded ICE from "hold" to "buy" with a $188 price target (~13% upside to current levels), giving the stock an analyst-driven catalyst that can support further buying interest. Deutsche Bank Upgrades ICE (StreetInsider)
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction: OKB and other related tokens jumped sharply after the announcement, signaling enthusiastic crypto-market response that can boost sentiment around ICE’s on-chain strategy. OKB surges 41% after ICE investment (MSN)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage/notes: Argus and other research outlets published takes on ICE this morning — useful context for earnings and valuation comparisons but not single-handedly market-moving. Analyst Report: Intercontinental Exchange Inc (Argus via Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and valuation scrutiny: coverage highlights concerns about ICE’s moves into prediction markets, tokenized securities and whether current multiples are justified by near-term earnings growth — a potential headwind if regulators or investors push back. ICE Faces Scrutiny Over Prediction Markets (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation caution from independent commentary: pieces note that ICE’s current multiples may outpace its earnings growth, underscoring execution risk and the possibility of multiple compression if growth disappoints. ICE: Multiples Outpace Earnings Growth (Seeking Alpha)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ICE shares. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.73.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 1.2%

ICE opened at $166.00 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $143.17 and a 1 year high of $189.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $94.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.03.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Intercontinental Exchange's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is presently 33.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total transaction of $383,460.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,679 shares in the company, valued at $4,262,566. The trade was a 8.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,194,396.12. The trade was a 44.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 355,363 shares of company stock worth $55,295,152 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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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