Westpac Banking Corp Trims Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 10.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,814 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $5,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ICE. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 2nd quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on ICE shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $193.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total value of $2,358,319.26. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,055,992.38. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total value of $2,070,340.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 54,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,357,521.34. This trade represents a 19.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 354,492 shares of company stock worth $55,139,102. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $160.71 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.02. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52-week low of $143.17 and a 52-week high of $189.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. Analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.28%.

Intercontinental Exchange Company 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.