Waverton Investment Management Ltd Acquires 1,521,467 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Waverton Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 28,886.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,526,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,521,467 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for 3.3% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $257,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,685,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,849,677,000 after acquiring an additional 745,135 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,438,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,270,657,000 after purchasing an additional 145,961 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,542,780,000. Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 97.3% during 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. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,967,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $836,852,000 after buying an additional 148,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE ICE opened at $164.05 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.31. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12 month low of $143.17 and a 12 month high of $189.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.04.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on ICE shares. Barclays set a $193.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $195.40.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total value of $2,070,340.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 54,319 shares in the company, valued at $8,357,521.34. This represents a 19.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $23,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,651,705 shares in the company, valued at $256,014,275. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 354,492 shares of company stock worth $55,139,102. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.