Ascent Group LLC Lowers Stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Ascent Group LLC lowered its position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $1,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $839,259,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,397,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,994,000 after acquiring an additional 4,251,371 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,776,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,978,218,000 after acquiring an additional 3,536,913 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,643,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,238,559,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 303.1% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,381,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790,493 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.57, for a total transaction of $305,070.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,882,209.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.68, for a total transaction of $8,272,553.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,179,993 shares in the company, valued at $167,181,408.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,267 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.57, for a total transaction of $305,070.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,882,209.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 64,992 shares of company stock valued at $9,197,801. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICE has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Argus restated a “buy” rating and set a $153.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $143.00 to $167.00 in a report on Monday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.07.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $151.16. 1,182,114 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,407,836. The business has a 50-day moving average of $139.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.68. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.49 and a 52 week high of $151.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.70 billion, a PE ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 24.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.