Westpac Banking Corp Makes New $2.76 Million Investment in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Westpac Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 22,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,761,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ICE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 191,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,041,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,245,085,000. USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 946,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $148,960,000 after purchasing an additional 256,851 shares during the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 124,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,244,000 after purchasing an additional 15,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 413,639 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $161.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $142.34 and a 200 day moving average of $151.69. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $90.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.92. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.79 and a fifty-two week high of $181.65.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.06. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 7,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.88, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 27.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.56, for a total transaction of $693,083.88. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 45,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,891,887.88. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,200 shares of company stock worth $3,035,385. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ICE. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $177.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.33.

Intercontinental Exchange 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.