Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Shares Bought by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 274,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,400 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $44,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 191,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,041,000 after purchasing an additional 10,742 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 107,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after buying an additional 16,635 shares during the last quarter. Dover Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter valued at about $710,000. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,788,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 284.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 43,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,098,000 after buying an additional 32,295 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of Intercontinental Exchange 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 sale, the director owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,092 shares of company stock worth $1,860,424. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ICE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. 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. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $211.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.00.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $140.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $154.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.92. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12-month low of $136.67 and a 12-month high of $189.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.