Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Bought by Blue Chip Partners LLC

Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 151,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,585 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange comprises about 1.7% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $23,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,892,000 after buying an additional 4,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 266,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,894,000 after purchasing an additional 6,373 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $145.93 on Monday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $139.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.00. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.79 and a 52 week high of $189.35. The stock has a market cap of $82.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $201.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.58.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,945,604.96. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 13,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,324 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.