WINTON GROUP Ltd Acquires 74,497 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd dramatically increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, boosting holdings by 1,674.5% in Q4 to 78,946 shares worth about $12.8 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with major firms like Vanguard, State Street, Wellington, and Norges Bank also adding to positions; 89.3% of ICE shares are held by institutions.
• ICE beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $2.35 on revenue of $3.67 billion, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a $194.60 average price target.

WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 1,674.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,946 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 74,497 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $12,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 413,639 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,816,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,181,125,000 after acquiring an additional 194,325 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,744,480,000 after acquiring an additional 4,067,922 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,418,228,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 15.2% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,028,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,184,238,000 after acquiring an additional 928,047 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $201.00 price objective (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,945,604.96. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total transaction of $663,798.82. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,081,939.98. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,001 shares of company stock valued at $1,847,820. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $141.36 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $155.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $79.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.67 and a 1 year high of $189.35.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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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