USS Investment Management Ltd Buys 256,851 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 37.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 946,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 256,851 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange makes up 0.6% of USS Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. USS Investment Management Ltd owned 0.17% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $148,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 54,107,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,763,214,000 after purchasing an additional 53,798,055 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,418,228,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $777,926,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067,922 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 148.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,203,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,701,000 after buying an additional 1,914,851 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ICE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $201.00 price objective (up from $198.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.58.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE:ICE opened at $122.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.09. The company has a market cap of $69.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.79 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.Intercontinental Exchange’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. The trade was a 9.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Jefferson Hague sold 1,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.46, for a total transaction of $185,900.18. Following the sale, the director owned 20,132 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,608.72. This represents a 6.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,425 shares of company stock worth $2,046,324. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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.