Waverly Advisors LLC Acquires 14,527 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Waverly Advisors increased its Intercontinental Exchange stake by 66.7% in the first quarter, acquiring 14,527 additional shares and ending the period with 36,292 shares valued at approximately $5.7 million.
• ICE reported quarterly earnings of $2.35 per share, beating estimates of $2.23, while revenue rose 20.4% year over year to $3.67 billion. Institutional investors own 89.3% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.58, despite several firms recently lowering their targets. Shares opened at $153.02.

Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 66.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,527 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $5,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,153,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,770,647,000 after purchasing an additional 413,639 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 54,107,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,763,214,000 after purchasing an additional 53,798,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,653,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,154,914,000 after purchasing an additional 837,208 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,875,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,571,212,000 after buying an additional 158,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,418,228,000. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $153.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.94. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a one year low of $121.79 and a one year high of $189.35. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $139.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total transaction of $390,033.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. This trade represents a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 13,425 shares of company stock worth $2,046,324 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ICE. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on 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 lowered their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.58.

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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