Unisphere Establishment Increases Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Unisphere Establishment raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 25.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 68,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,900 shares during the quarter. Unisphere Establishment’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $10,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ICE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% during 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. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of ICE opened at $145.93 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a one year low of $121.79 and a one year high of $189.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $82.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.56, for a total value of $693,083.88. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 45,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,891,887.88. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William Jefferson Hague sold 1,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.46, for a total transaction of $185,900.18. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,132 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,608.72. This trade represents a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,324. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $193.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $201.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.