Insider Selling: Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) CFO Sells $383,460.00 in Stock

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $383,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,679 shares in the company, valued at $4,262,566. This trade represents a 8.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE:ICE opened at $154.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.17 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35. The firm has a market cap of $87.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $164.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.21.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays set a $193.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $195.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Intercontinental Exchange this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kraken integration — Kraken has integrated with ICE Chat to expand institutional OTC crypto access, which advances ICE’s push into crypto infrastructure and could boost trading/data volumes over time. Kraken Integrates with ICE Chat
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals & analyst support — ICE recently reported an EPS beat and revenue above expectations, continues to pay a quarterly dividend, and retains a mostly positive analyst consensus/price targets, providing fundamental support under the stock. MarketBeat Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Pune office lease — ICE’s India arm leased space for a global capability center in Pune (commercial real estate move that supports operations expansion but is not material to near-term earnings). ICE leases Pune GCC space
• Neutral Sentiment: Small institutional flows — Recent filings show many small, new institutional stakes; institutional ownership remains high (~89%), but recent buys/sells cited are immaterial at scale. Institutional activity
• Negative Sentiment: Large CEO selling — CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold significant blocks of shares (reported filings show ~150,000 and ~129,937-share dispositions around Feb 18). Large CEO sales are the most likely proximate cause of today’s negative sentiment. CEO SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: CTO sale — CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares (~$2.36M) on Feb 18, a ~19% reduction in his holding. CTO SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Other executive selling — Additional insider sales reported: President Benjamin Jackson (3,865 sh), CFO Warren Gardiner (2,490 sh), and insider Christopher Scott Edmonds (11,303 sh). These clustered sales amplify negative investor perception even though executives retain sizable holdings. President SEC filing CFO SEC filing Insider Edmonds SEC filing

Intercontinental Exchange Company 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.