Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Stake Lessened by GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. reduced its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 222,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,038 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for approximately 1.7% of GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $36,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of ICE stock opened at $145.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $157.12 and a 200 day moving average of $160.10. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $143.01 and a 1 year high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director directly owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at $2,280,848.56. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 45,473 shares in the company, valued at $6,891,887.88. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,001 shares of company stock valued at $1,847,820 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ICE shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $201.00 target price (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Intercontinental Exchange from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $194.60.

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.