Key Points
- Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares on Feb. 19 at an average price of $153.82, totaling about $1.74 million and cutting his stake by 44.21% to 14,266 shares.
- The trade is part of a broader wave of executive selling — including CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher (~150,000 and ~129,937-share dispositions), the CTO and other senior executives — which has amplified negative investor sentiment.
- Fundamentals remain solid: ICE posted an EPS beat and higher-than-expected revenue for the quarter, recently declared a $0.52 quarterly dividend (1.4% yield), and carries a consensus "Buy" rating with a ~$195.40 price target.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total transaction of $383,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,262,566. This trade represents a 8.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.
Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance
NYSE ICE opened at $154.00 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $164.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.54. The stock has a market cap of $87.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.17 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35.
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The firm's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is 33.28%.
Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ICE. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.1% in the second quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% during the second quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 6,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Ledyard National Bank grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts recently commented on ICE shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays set a $193.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.40.
Read Our Latest Analysis on ICE
Trending Headlines about Intercontinental Exchange
Here are the key news stories impacting Intercontinental Exchange this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Kraken integration — Kraken has integrated with ICE Chat to expand institutional OTC crypto access, which advances ICE’s push into crypto infrastructure and could boost trading/data volumes over time. Kraken Integrates with ICE Chat
- Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals & analyst support — ICE recently reported an EPS beat and revenue above expectations, continues to pay a quarterly dividend, and retains a mostly positive analyst consensus/price targets, providing fundamental support under the stock. MarketBeat Coverage
- Neutral Sentiment: Pune office lease — ICE’s India arm leased space for a global capability center in Pune (commercial real estate move that supports operations expansion but is not material to near-term earnings). ICE leases Pune GCC space
- Neutral Sentiment: Small institutional flows — Recent filings show many small, new institutional stakes; institutional ownership remains high (~89%), but recent buys/sells cited are immaterial at scale. Institutional activity
- Negative Sentiment: Large CEO selling — CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold significant blocks of shares (reported filings show ~150,000 and ~129,937-share dispositions around Feb 18). Large CEO sales are the most likely proximate cause of today’s negative sentiment. CEO SEC filing
- Negative Sentiment: CTO sale — CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares (~$2.36M) on Feb 18, a ~19% reduction in his holding. CTO SEC filing
- Negative Sentiment: Other executive selling — Additional insider sales reported: President Benjamin Jackson (3,865 sh), CFO Warren Gardiner (2,490 sh), and insider Christopher Scott Edmonds (11,303 sh). These clustered sales amplify negative investor perception even though executives retain sizable holdings. President SEC filing CFO SEC filing Insider Edmonds SEC filing
About Intercontinental Exchange
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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