California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 342,609 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 21.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,218,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 342,609 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $191,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 1.6%

ICE stock opened at $139.55 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $140.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.79 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.94.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The business’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. This trade represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 13,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,324 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ICE shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $201.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $193.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.58.

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.