Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. by 7.1% during Q2, now owning a total of 91,000 shares worth approximately $16.7 million.
• Several large investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Price T Rowe Associates Inc., also raised their stakes in Intercontinental Exchange during the first quarter, showcasing significant institutional interest.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on the stock, with price targets ranging from $188 to $210, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $16,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,940,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,132,211,000 after acquiring an additional 712,179 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 491.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,433,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,109,780,000 after acquiring an additional 5,345,388 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 6,315,706 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,060,574,000 after acquiring an additional 810,938 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 6,192,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,068,193,000 after acquiring an additional 31,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 113.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,943,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,025,230,000 after acquiring an additional 3,165,381 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ICE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial raised Intercontinental Exchange from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $192.00 to $188.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $201.00 target price (down previously from $212.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.60.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE ICE opened at $155.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $88.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business's 50 day moving average price is $170.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.57. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.29 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.51, for a total value of $506,079.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,170,672.19. This represents a 13.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 3,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.33, for a total value of $686,570.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 46,293 shares in the company, valued at $8,255,430.69. This trade represents a 7.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 240,956 shares of company stock worth $43,789,542 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.

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