Advisors Preferred LLC Has $8.20 Million Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Advisors Preferred LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 359.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 40,754 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for about 1.2% of Advisors Preferred LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Advisors Preferred LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $8,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $201.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $193.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.33.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 0.0%

ICE stock opened at $137.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.20. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.79 and a 52 week high of $189.35. The company has a market capitalization of $77.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.94.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,945,604.96. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,425 shares of company stock worth $2,046,324. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.