Securian Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,140 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $2,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $8,770,647,000 after acquiring an additional 413,639 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted 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 valued at $4,181,125,000 after acquiring an additional 194,325 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 valued at $1,744,480,000 after acquiring an additional 4,067,922 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted 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 valued at $1,184,238,000 after acquiring an additional 928,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 6.9% in the third quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 5,677,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $956,506,000 after acquiring an additional 364,227 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE ICE opened at $157.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.96. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52-week low of $143.17 and a 52-week high of $189.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $160.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted 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 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $23,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,651,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,014,275. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total transaction of $740,502.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 48,181 shares in the company, valued at $7,805,322. The trade was a 8.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 330,835 shares of company stock valued at $51,275,650 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ICE shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $211.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $201.00 target price (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $194.10.

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.