Icon Plc $ICLR Stock: Equity Investment Corp Decreases Stake

Equity Investment Corp reduced its stake in shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 7.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 823,608 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 65,267 shares during the quarter. Icon makes up approximately 1.9% of Equity Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Icon were worth $140,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Icon in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Icon by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 391 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Icon by 120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 616 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Icon by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 866 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Icon by 1,062.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 918 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Icon Stock Performance

ICLR stock opened at $204.63 on Wednesday. Icon Plc has a 1-year low of $66.57 and a 1-year high of $219.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $176.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.26. The company has a market capitalization of $15.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a PEG ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Icon had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 7.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Icon Plc will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Icon from $197.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Icon from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Icon from $185.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Icon from $195.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barry Balfe sold 5,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.66, for a total value of $1,069,465.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,920,078.06. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Ciaran Murray sold 3,452 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.66, for a total transaction of $709,938.32. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,496,220. This represents a 16.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,916 shares of company stock worth $4,512,452. 44.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Icon Profile

ICON plc is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government organizations. Its work supports the development of medicines and other healthcare products from early research through clinical trials and regulatory submission. The company’s services include clinical trial design and management, data management and biostatistics, regulatory support, laboratory services, medical imaging and patient recruitment.