Pullen Investment Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Icon Plc $ICLR

Pullen Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $907,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ICLR. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Icon by 120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 616 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Icon by 207.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 658 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Icon by 30.0% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 866 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Icon by 1,062.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 918 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Icon

In related news, Director John Climax sold 5,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $875,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,087 shares in the company, valued at $365,225. The trade was a 70.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronan Murphy sold 5,005 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $875,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $673,225. The trade was a 56.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 22,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,887,139 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 44.00% of the company’s stock.

Icon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $185.27 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.89. The stock has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.24. Icon Plc has a twelve month low of $66.57 and a twelve month high of $203.91.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Icon Plc will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Icon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group started coverage on Icon in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Icon in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $194.00 price target on Icon in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Icon from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Icon has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.73.

About Icon

ICON plc is a global contract research organization that provides outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports clinical research programs from early development through late-stage trials, regulatory submission and post-marketing activities.

Its services include clinical trial management, medical and regulatory consulting, biostatistics, data management, pharmacovigilance, laboratory services and real-world evidence solutions.