Icon Plc $ICLR Shares Sold by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp reduced its position in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 623,188 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,041 shares during the quarter. Icon comprises about 2.3% of Equity Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Icon were worth $113,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Icon by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,637,137 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $811,499,000 after purchasing an additional 975,268 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Icon by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,427,630 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $599,835,000 after purchasing an additional 341,637 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Icon by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,993,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $545,410,000 after purchasing an additional 239,808 shares during the period. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Icon by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 1,708,183 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $248,455,000 after purchasing an additional 453,833 shares during the period. Finally, Harris Associates L P acquired a new position in shares of Icon in the 2nd quarter valued at $238,256,000. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ICLR shares. Piper Sandler cut shares of Icon to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Icon in a report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Icon in a report on Monday, June 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Icon from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Icon from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.44.

Icon Price Performance

Icon stock opened at $149.92 on Friday. Icon Plc has a 52-week low of $66.57 and a 52-week high of $211.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34, a PEG ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 10th. The medical research company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.05. Icon had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Icon Plc will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Icon

Icon plc (NASDAQ: ICLR) is a global provider of outsourced drug development and clinical research services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company partners with clients at all stages of the product life cycle, offering expertise in protocol design, trial execution and regulatory compliance across a broad range of therapeutic areas.

Icon’s service portfolio encompasses clinical trial management, data management and biostatistics, medical imaging, pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring, laboratory sciences and specialized analytical solutions.