Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE Stock Position Boosted by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 324,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,897 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $39,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ICE. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price objective on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, July 31st. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $256,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 17,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,794,080. The trade was a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,574 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.77, for a total transaction of $739,935.98. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 43,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,966,625.05. This represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,141 shares of company stock worth $3,554,192 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE:ICE opened at $159.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.40. The stock has a market cap of $89.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.93. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.79 and a 1-year high of $177.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current 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.