Icon Plc $ICLR Stake Lessened by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its holdings in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Icon were worth $2,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ICLR. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Icon in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Icon in the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Icon in the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Icon by 44.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 393 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Icon by 40,800.0% during the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 409 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ICLR shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Icon from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Icon from $183.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Leerink Partners set a $220.00 target price on Icon in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Icon from $170.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on Icon in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.14.

Icon Trading Up 3.9%

Icon stock opened at $171.82 on Monday. Icon Plc has a one year low of $125.10 and a one year high of $231.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $178.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.59. 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 company has a market capitalization of $13.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.23.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Icon had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 7.40%.The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.35 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Icon Plc will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Icon

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies.