Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 118,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $19,245,000 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 the business. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Steph & Co. increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total transaction of $663,798.82. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,081,939.98. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $100,903.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,001 shares of company stock valued at $1,847,820. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE:ICE opened at $141.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $136.67 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35. The stock has a market cap of $79.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.72.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $201.00 price objective (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate 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.