Pecaut & CO. Invests $2.02 Million in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Pecaut & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,000. Intercontinental Exchange comprises approximately 0.6% of Pecaut & CO.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICE has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $177.00 price objective (up from $159.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.33.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $154.55 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.79 and a 1 year high of $182.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.92. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.06. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,945,604.96. This trade represents a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.20, for a total value of $645,775.20. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 67,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,279,785.60. This trade represents a 5.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 20,725 shares of company stock worth $3,115,124 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.