Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 4,067,922 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Wellington Management boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% in Q3, buying 4,067,922 shares to hold 10,354,224 shares (about 1.82% of ICE), valued at roughly $1.744 billion per its 13F filing.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently: CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares for about $23.25 million, and insiders sold a total of 348,418 shares worth $54.2 million over the last 90 days.
• ICE beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.71 vs. $1.67 expected; revenue $3.14B vs. $2.51B expected), declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 (annualized $2.08, ~1.3% yield), and carries a consensus analyst target of $194.73 (overall "Buy" rating).

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 64.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,067,922 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 1.82% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $1,744,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter valued at $1,542,780,000. Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 97.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 5,313,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $974,783,000 after buying an additional 2,620,310 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 179.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,472,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $416,544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586,620 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 28,886.8% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,526,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,781,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $510,330,000 after acquiring an additional 994,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total transaction of $1,738,627.46. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,396.12. The trade was a 44.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $23,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,651,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,014,275. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of ICE opened at $159.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $90.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.03. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $143.17 and a 1 year high of $189.35. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $164.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is 33.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.73.

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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