Security Financial Services INC. Increases Stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Security Financial Services INC. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 185 shares during the quarter. Security Financial Services INC.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.4 %

ICE traded up $0.50 on Monday, hitting $138.34. The company had a trading volume of 51,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,317,482. The firm has a market cap of $79.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.49 and a 1 year high of $140.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $133.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.48. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 24.24% and a return on equity of 12.76%. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total transaction of $8,011,417.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,179,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,893,392.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.57, for a total value of $305,070.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,882,209.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total value of $8,011,417.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,179,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,893,392.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,234 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,823. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ICE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.29.

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.