L1 Capital Pty Ltd Invests $110 Million in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

L1 Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 679,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $110,004,000. Intercontinental Exchange makes up 5.7% of L1 Capital Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ICE. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,892,000 after purchasing an additional 4,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $48,894,000 after purchasing an additional 6,373 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ICE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 target price on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $211.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.00.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE ICE opened at $140.26 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1-year low of $136.67 and a 1-year high of $189.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $154.22 and a 200-day moving average of $159.27. The firm has a market cap of $79.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.92.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its 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. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,945,604.96. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $100,903.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,280,848.56. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,092 shares of company stock worth $1,860,424. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.