Veritas Asset Management LLP Cuts Stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Veritas Asset Management LLP cut its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,983,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 163,460 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange comprises about 4.5% of Veritas Asset Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Veritas Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $244,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,892,000 after buying an additional 4,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 266,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,894,000 after buying an additional 6,373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE stock traded down $3.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $157.67. 5,725,995 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,956,329. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.79 and a 52-week high of $176.59. The stock has a market cap of $88.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.58 and its 200 day moving average is $151.68.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 14.95%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 7,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.88, for a total value of $1,086,824.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,099.44. This represents a 27.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.20, for a total transaction of $645,775.20. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 67,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,279,785.60. The trade was a 5.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 40,912 shares of company stock valued at $6,403,616 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ICE. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $218.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.17.

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.