Independent Franchise Partners LLP Reduces Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Independent Franchise Partners LLP lowered its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,781,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,323,410 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange comprises 5.3% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 0.84% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $805,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ICE. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 9,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,621,000 after buying an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 12.5% during the third quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 125,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,080,000 after buying an additional 13,853 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 60.9% during the third quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 2,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 60.0% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 72,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,140,000 after buying an additional 27,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.8% in the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total transaction of $740,502.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 48,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,805,322. The trade was a 8.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.73, for a total value of $594,166.45. Following the sale, the president directly owned 165,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,412,183.92. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 348,418 shares of company stock valued at $54,196,631. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, 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, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $194.73.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE opened at $159.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $164.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.33. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.17 and a twelve month high of $189.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $90.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.03.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced 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 company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is presently 33.28%.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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.