Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,800 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $13,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 819.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 137,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,764,000 after acquiring an additional 122,169 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 317,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,617,000 after purchasing an additional 20,802 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 1st quarter valued at about $866,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 200.2% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 14,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after buying an additional 9,642 shares during the period. Finally, BDF Gestion bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter worth about $2,849,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $166.89 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.49 and a 1 year high of $167.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $161.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.86. The company has a market cap of $95.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company’s revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.43, for a total transaction of $121,072.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,863.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Martha A. Tirinnanzi sold 509 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.98, for a total value of $80,920.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,958 shares in the company, valued at $629,242.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 750 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.43, for a total value of $121,072.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,576 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,863.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,489 shares of company stock valued at $1,202,259 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ICE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $167.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.93.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.