Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 55.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 211,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 259,374 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $33,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ICONIQ Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% in the second quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 6,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $145.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.08. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.79 and a 12 month high of $189.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 30.06%.The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ICE shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $201.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $100,903.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total transaction of $390,033.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. The trade was a 9.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,324. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange 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.