Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Icon Plc $ICLR

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in Icon by 8.4% in Q4, selling 275,758 shares and now holds about 3.72% of the company (roughly $546.94 million) after the transaction.
• Analysts have trimmed price targets—Citigroup and Barclays cut targets from $200 to $120 and Bank of America keeps an underperform view with a $75 target—resulting in a consensus rating of Hold and a $149.38 consensus price target.
• Icon shares opened at $111.97 (down 0.8%), with a market cap of $9.04 billion and a 52‑week range of $66.57–$211; the current price sits below the 200‑day moving average ($148.70) but near the 50‑day average ($107.01).

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Free Report) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,001,535 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 275,758 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 3.72% of Icon worth $546,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in Icon during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Icon during the third quarter worth $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Icon by 153.4% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 332 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Icon during the third quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Icon during the third quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICLR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Icon from $200.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Leerink Partners set a $125.00 price objective on Icon in a report on Monday. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $119.00 price objective on Icon in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Icon from $200.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $149.38.

Icon Stock Down 0.8%

ICLR opened at $111.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.23. Icon Plc has a 52 week low of $66.57 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $107.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.70.

About Icon

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.

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