Empirical Finance LLC Increases Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 11.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1,018.8% in the first quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of ICE traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $148.40. 3,713,466 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,373,789. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.49 and a 12-month high of $149.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.90.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.48. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 24.24% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 395 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $55,746.35. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 64,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,098,792.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 395 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $55,746.35. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 64,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,098,792.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Intercontinental Exchange, Inc bought 350,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $0.87 per share, for a total transaction of $305,265.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 649,934 shares in the company, valued at $565,442.58. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 63,290 shares of company stock valued at $8,937,674. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $153.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $150.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.07.

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.