We All Know Sprott Loves Materials Stocks; Now See What Else It Likes

Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE:ICE)

Shares Held by Sprott Inc. (as of September 30): 151,100

Value of Sprott Inc.’s Position (as of September 30): $40.7 million

Sprott’s long position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE:ICE) remained unchanged over the third quarter. However, the fund did add put options underlying 30,500 shares to its portfolio, as it hedges against its larger long position. As of the end of June 30, the regulated exchanges, clearing houses and listings venues operator was also owned by Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global, which held 1.13 million shares, and William Von Mueffling’s Cantillon Capital Management, with 1.03 million shares.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE:ICE) gained 6.57% over the third quarter, but has dipped slightly in the fourth quarter. On Tuesday, the company reported third-quarter EPS of $3.21, missing the Street’s consensus by $0.01 (basically in-line, to be fair). And although revenue of $1.08 billion was up by 32.4% year-over-year, it was also only in-line with expectations. In addition, the company’s management declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, unchanged from the previous payout.

Fiserv Inc (NASDAQ:FISV)

Shares Held by Sprott Inc. (as of September 30): 432,000

Value of Sprott Inc.’s Position (as of September 30): $42.97 million

One of Sprott’s most bullish moves in the third quarter was in regards to its holding in Fiserv Inc (NASDAQ:FISV). Over the period, the fund increased its long position by 160%, to 432,000 shares, while trimming its put options stake by 50%, to an underlying 166,000 shares. Another fund in our database long the stock on September 30 was Louis Navellier’s Navellier & Associates, which owned 79,635 shares or $7.9 million in stock.

Shares of Fiserv Inc (NASDAQ:FISV) are almost flat in the fourth quarter. Last week, the company reported its third-quarter financial results, which were headlined by EPS of $1.14, $0.01 above the Street’s consensus, and revenue of $1.38 billion, $20 million below expectations. Shares tumbled on the day that followed the announcement, but then rebounded almost to pre-earnings levels.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Shares Held by Sprott Inc. (as of September 30): 783,960

Value of Sprott Inc.’s Position (as of September 30): $44.33 million

Leaving two large options positions in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) aside, Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) represented the firm’s largest equity stake as of September 30. In addition to its long position, Sprott held put options underlying 181,200 shares at the end of the third quarter. Also bullish on the company was Ray Carroll’s Breton Hill Capital, which disclosed ownership of 17,395 shares as of September 30.

Same as its peer above, shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) are almost flat this quarter, even though the company recently posted top- and bottom-line beat with its third-quarter results. EPS of $1.56 beat expectations by $0.09, while revenue of $2.3 billion came in $30 million ahead of estimates.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned in this article.