Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Schwartz Investment Counsel increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 10.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 104,700 shares valued at about $16.5 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 89.3% of ICE; several large investors also made major changes to their positions recently.
• ICE reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $2.35 beating estimates and revenue rising 20.4% year over year, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $183.33.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 104,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,700 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $16,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 54,107,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,763,214,000 after purchasing an additional 53,798,055 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,418,228,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $777,926,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 148.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,203,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $519,701,000 after buying an additional 1,914,851 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 569.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,210,948 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $358,142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880,835 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.56, for a total transaction of $693,083.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 45,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,891,887.88. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at $2,280,848.56. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 13,425 shares of company stock worth $2,046,324 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of ICE stock opened at $137.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $142.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.38. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.79 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ICE. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $201.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.33.

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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