Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 49.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,954,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,924,190 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $316,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steph & Co. increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE stock opened at $138.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $136.67 and a twelve month high of $189.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.68. 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 (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The company’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total value of $663,798.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,081,939.98. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.56, for a total value of $693,083.88. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 45,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,891,887.88. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 12,001 shares of company stock valued at $1,847,820 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $201.00 price target (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.60.

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.