Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Takes Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $662,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,892,000 after buying an additional 4,628 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 6,373 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $201.00 price objective (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.00.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $140.95 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $153.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.10. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12-month low of $136.67 and a 12-month high of $189.35. The firm has a market cap of $79.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total transaction of $390,033.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,945,604.96. This trade represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William Jefferson Hague sold 1,333 shares of Intercontinental Exchange 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,608.72. This represents a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,425 shares of company stock worth $2,046,324. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.