Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Sells 1,464,486 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 98.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,464,486 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $4,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.56, for a total transaction of $693,083.88. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 45,473 shares in the company, valued at $6,891,887.88. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William Jefferson Hague sold 1,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.46, for a total value of $185,900.18. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,608.72. This trade represents a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,425 shares of company stock worth $2,046,324. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:ICE opened at $133.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.92. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.84 and a 52 week high of $189.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $151.34 and a 200 day moving average of $158.60.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ICE shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $201.00 price target (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, May 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.00.

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.