Johnson Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ICE. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 54,107,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,763,214,000 after buying an additional 53,798,055 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,245,085,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $1,418,228,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter valued at about $714,869,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $649,900,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of ICE opened at $157.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $141.53 and its 200-day moving average is $151.73. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.79 and a 12 month high of $181.72.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.06. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 7,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.88, for a total value of $1,086,824.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,063 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,099.44. This trade represents a 27.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William Jefferson Hague sold 1,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.46, for a total value of $185,900.18. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,608.72. This trade represents a 6.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,376 shares of company stock valued at $2,746,946. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.33.

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.