Swedbank AB Sells 9,400 Shares of Icon Plc $ICLR

Swedbank AB lessened its stake in shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,400 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Icon were worth $7,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Icon by 739.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,277,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $573,526,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886,755 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P bought a new stake in shares of Icon in the 2nd quarter worth $238,256,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings 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 worth $811,499,000 after purchasing an additional 975,268 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,753,528 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $481,692,000 after purchasing an additional 719,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 1,207.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 739,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $129,372,000 after purchasing an additional 682,597 shares in the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICLR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Icon from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $119.00 target price on Icon in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Icon in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 target price on Icon and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Icon in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

Icon Stock Performance

ICLR stock opened at $113.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.23. Icon Plc has a 1 year low of $66.57 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.95.

Icon Profile

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.