Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Makes New Investment in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 175,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,529,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ICE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 3.1%

ICE opened at $126.98 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $145.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.84. 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 firm has a market cap of $71.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.94. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.79 and a twelve month high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.37 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.58.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, Director William Jefferson Hague sold 1,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.46, for a total value of $185,900.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,132 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,608.72. This represents a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,324. Company 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.