Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Icon Plc by 8.3%, selling 5,309 shares and now owning 58,729 shares valued at approximately $10.3 million.
• Institutional ownership of Icon Plc is significant, with investors owning 95.61% of the company's stock, indicating a strong interest from large financial entities.
• Several analysts have raised target prices for Icon, with UBS Group updating their target from $170 to $240, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among research analysts.

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,729 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,309 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Icon worth $10,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Icon in the 1st quarter worth approximately $59,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Icon during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Icon by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Icon during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Icon by 7.6% in the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Icon Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ICLR traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $176.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 365,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,315,577. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $155.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.17. Icon Plc has a 12-month low of $125.10 and a 12-month high of $328.35.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Icon had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Icon Plc will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ICLR shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Icon from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Icon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Icon from $187.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Icon from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Icon from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $224.00 in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.54.

Icon Profile

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.