Ascent Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Ascent Group LLC lessened its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 0.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $1,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1,018.8% in the 1st quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ICE stock opened at $158.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $156.89 and its 200 day moving average is $143.54. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.49 and a 12-month high of $163.71.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ICE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $143.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $151.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $159.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 395 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $55,746.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 64,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,098,792.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.68, for a total transaction of $8,272,553.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,179,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,181,408.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 395 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $55,746.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 64,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,098,792.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,268 shares of company stock valued at $9,508,809. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.