Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 656,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,638 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $105,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 310,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,888,000 after acquiring an additional 4,973 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.3% in the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 103,412 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,612,000 after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter worth about $14,880,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 6.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 169,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,192,000 after purchasing an additional 10,399 shares during the period. Finally, Main Management ETF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 2,048 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.57, for a total transaction of $326,799.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 44,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,159,108.05. This represents a 4.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $932,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 156,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,080. The trade was a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,581 shares of company stock worth $1,523,078. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ICE. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $171.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.07.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $150.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $158.88 and a 200 day moving average of $153.86. The stock has a market cap of $86.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.65 and a 12-month high of $167.99.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.55. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 21.31%. The company's revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Profile

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.