Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,156,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,352 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $363,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,542,780,000. Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 97.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 5,313,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $974,783,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620,310 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 29,199.5% during the second quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 1,652,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,129,000 after buying an additional 1,646,562 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,781,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $510,330,000 after acquiring an additional 994,316 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 503.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,133,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $191,038,000 after acquiring an additional 946,065 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Intercontinental Exchange

Here are the key news stories impacting Intercontinental Exchange this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and research notes lifted multiple EPS forecasts (Q4/Q3 FY2026–27 and FY2026–27 upgrades), and a Zacks piece highlights ICE’s strong earnings‑surprise history — this supports expectations for better-than-expected results. Will ICE (ICE) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: ICE will extend daily trading hours for European gas and power contracts (effective Feb. 23) — longer sessions likely increase traded volumes and clearing/transaction fees for energy products. Intercontinental Exchange to extend trading hours for EU gas and power
• Positive Sentiment: NYSE (owned by ICE) will be the U.S. options listing venue for MSCI benchmark indexes, expanding the exchange’s role in index options and likely boosting listings, volumes and ancillary revenue. The New York Stock Exchange Enters Agreement with MSCI to Become the U.S. Options Listing Venue for Benchmark Indexes in Early 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary notes ICE can benefit if interest rates remain higher for longer (beneficial for certain fee streams and derivatives activity), but the effect depends on market structure and client behavior. Higher-for-Longer Rates Could Reward These 3 Overlooked Stocks (ICE)
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks made a few small downward tweaks to certain quarterly estimates (notably some Q1/Q2 quarters) — these trims introduce short-term earnings timing risk even as full‑year views were largely raised.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ICE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $199.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating and set a $174.00 price target (up previously from $169.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.80.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,345 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.67, for a total transaction of $837,401.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 65,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,221,150.80. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.08, for a total value of $22,962,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,801,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $275,805,001.40. This represents a 7.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 166,068 shares of company stock valued at $25,470,702. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 2.5%

ICE opened at $165.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $94.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.29 and a twelve month high of $189.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.77.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.71. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 25.24%.The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.