Swedbank AB Purchases 1,064,967 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 43.3% in Q4, acquiring an additional 1,064,967 shares to hold 3,527,115 shares, or about 0.62% of the company valued at roughly $571.3 million.
• ICE reported a quarterly beat with $2.35 EPS vs a $2.23 estimate and revenue of $3.67 billion (up 20.4% year-over-year), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 ($2.08 annualized, ~1.3% yield).
• Insiders have been net sellers—disposing of 348,418 shares worth about $54.2 million in the past three months—while institutional investors hold roughly 89.3% of the stock.

Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 43.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,527,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,064,967 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.62% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $571,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:ICE opened at $155.32 on Wednesday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.17 and a twelve month high of $189.35. The company has a market cap of $87.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is presently 30.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $194.10.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total value of $2,070,340.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 54,319 shares in the company, valued at $8,357,521.34. The trade was a 19.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were 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 owned 14,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,194,396.12. The trade was a 44.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 348,418 shares of company stock valued at $54,196,631 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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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