Independent Franchise Partners LLP Sells 285,467 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP cut its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,637,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 285,467 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for about 7.1% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 0.98% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $771,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 7.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,776,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,978,218,000 after acquiring an additional 3,536,913 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,397,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,105,994,000 after purchasing an additional 4,251,371 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,643,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,238,559,000 after purchasing an additional 2,530,119 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 8,429,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,082,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 4.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,280,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $725,657,000 after purchasing an additional 218,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ICE has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $151.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $143.00 to $167.00 in a report on Monday, July 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $159.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.08.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of ICE traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $159.84. The company had a trading volume of 4,843,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,492,314. The firm has a market cap of $91.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.66, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $155.82 and a 200-day moving average of $142.80. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.49 and a 12 month high of $163.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company's revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 602 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.81, for a total transaction of $98,011.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,284,875.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Intercontinental Exchange news, COO Stuart Glen Williams sold 468 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.81, for a total transaction of $76,195.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 13,530 shares in the company, valued at $2,202,819.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 602 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.81, for a total transaction of $98,011.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,034 shares in the company, valued at $2,284,875.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,166 shares of company stock valued at $9,768,190. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.