65,267 Icon Plc $ICLR Shares Sold by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp trimmed its position in shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 823,608 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 65,267 shares during the period. Icon makes up approximately 1.9% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Equity Investment Corp owned approximately 1.08% of Icon worth $140,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Icon in the third quarter valued at $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Icon by 21.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 391 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Icon by 1,062.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 918 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Icon by 120.0% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 616 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Icon by 804.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barry Balfe sold 5,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,920,078.06. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.66, for a total transaction of $709,938.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,496,220. This trade represents a 16.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,916 shares of company stock worth $4,512,452 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 44.00% of the company’s stock.

Icon Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of ICLR opened at $204.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $176.81 and a 200 day moving average of $147.26. Icon Plc has a 52-week low of $66.57 and a 52-week high of $219.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.04. Icon had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 7.73%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Icon Plc will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ICLR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Icon in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Icon from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Icon from $185.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $254.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.76.

About Icon

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.