Eastern Bank Reduces Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Eastern Bank decreased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 58.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 92,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 131,058 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $11,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total transaction of $663,798.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,081,939.98. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at $2,280,848.56. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,324. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ICE. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.33.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE opened at $151.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $85.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.50. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.79 and a 1 year 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 14.95%. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.