Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 8,667 Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Wellspring Financial Advisors disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Intercontinental Exchange, buying 8,667 shares worth about $1.4 million.
• Several other institutional investors also initiated or expanded positions, and hedge funds now own 89.30% of ICE’s stock.
• Analysts remain generally bullish: ICE has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $194.60, though one recent downgrade came from Weiss Ratings.

Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,667 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,404,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 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 dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.56, for a total value of $693,083.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 45,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,891,887.88. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total transaction of $390,033.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,945,604.96. The trade was a 9.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,001 shares of company stock worth $1,847,820. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $201.00 price target (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.60.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:ICE opened at $140.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52-week low of $136.67 and a 52-week high of $189.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.52.

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

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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