Empowered Funds LLC Has $5.48 Million Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 59.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 34,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,973 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $5,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ICE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Intercontinental Exchange this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ICE reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.90 per share, exceeding the $1.84 consensus estimate, while revenue reached approximately $2.7 billion, up 5% year over year. Growth in recurring data and mortgage technology helped offset weaker energy-related activity. ICE Q2 Earnings Beat on Data Growth and Mortgage Strength
• Positive Sentiment: The company returned $945 million to shareholders during the quarter, including $651 million in repurchases, and increased its authorized buyback capacity to $4 billion. ICE also raised its quarterly dividend 8% year over year to $0.52 per share. ICE Approves Third Quarter Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: The MarketAxess deal would expand ICE’s electronic fixed-income trading, market-data and distribution capabilities. Management is positioning the acquisition to benefit from the long-term shift from voice-based to electronic bond trading. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027. Rise of Bond E-Trading Underpins ICE’s MarketAxess Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketAxess shares surged roughly 30% after ICE offered a premium of about 33% to its unaffected price, highlighting the strategic value of the target but also making the transaction a significant capital commitment for ICE. NYSE Parent ICE to Purchase MarketAxess
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear concerned that paying nearly $6 billion in cash could pressure near-term returns, increase execution and integration risk, and limit financial flexibility. The market’s initial reaction was cautious despite the earnings beat, with ICE shares underperforming broader equities.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $152.64 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.79 and a 52-week high of $189.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $139.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.69.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.06. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 14.95%. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 target price on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total value of $663,798.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,081,939.98. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total transaction of $390,033.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 13,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,324 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.