Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Increases Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 107,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,500 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $18,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 59.5% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 73.3% during the second quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 100.0% during the second quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 4,722 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.19, for a total value of $798,915.18. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,094.93. The trade was a 32.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.67, for a total transaction of $837,401.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 65,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,221,150.80. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 181,570 shares of company stock valued at $28,077,452. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ICE shares. Barclays set a $193.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 target price on Intercontinental Exchange and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.40.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $149.82 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.17 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $85.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $165.35 and a 200 day moving average of $165.86.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.28%.

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.