Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Takes $15.78 Million Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co. acquired 128,201 shares of Intercontinental Exchange, valued at approximately $15.78 million, during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 89.30% of ICE.
• ICE reported quarterly earnings of $1.90 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.84, while revenue rose 4.8% year over year to $3.61 billion. Shares opened at $161.29, with a 52-week range of $121.79 to $181.65.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $183.33, although company insiders sold 20,200 shares worth about $3.04 million over the past quarter.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 128,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,783,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ICE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of ICE stock opened at $161.29 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $90.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.92. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.79 and a fifty-two week high of $181.65. The business's 50 day moving average price is $142.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.06. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $177.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $183.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,491 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.30, for a total value of $389,343.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,547,697.40. This trade represents a 9.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 7,300 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.88, for a total transaction of $1,086,824.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,063 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,099.44. The trade was a 27.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 20,200 shares of company stock valued at $3,035,385 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange 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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