WINTON GROUP Ltd Has $313,000 Holdings in Icon Plc $ICLR

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd cut its Icon stake by 94.1% in the second quarter, selling 28,754 shares and retaining 1,800 shares valued at approximately $313,000.
• Institutional investors own 95.61% of Icon’s stock, with several major funds—including Capital World Investors and Maple Rock Capital Partners—substantially increasing their positions.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $170.40. Icon slightly exceeded quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $2.56 per share on revenue of $2.06 billion.

WINTON GROUP Ltd cut its stake in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Free Report) by 94.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,800 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 28,754 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd's holdings in Icon were worth $313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 10.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,311,771 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $366,481,000 after purchasing an additional 310,236 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Icon by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,993,336 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $545,410,000 after buying an additional 239,808 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in Icon by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 1,535,462 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $266,725,000 after buying an additional 327,314 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Icon by 555.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,496,479 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $272,688,000 after buying an additional 1,268,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in Icon by 257.8% in the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,199,600 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $208,383,000 after buying an additional 864,300 shares during the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anne Whitaker sold 841 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $138,167.89. Following the sale, the director directly owned 891 shares in the company, valued at $146,382.39. This trade represents a 48.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Bernard Clerkin sold 2,267 shares of Icon stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total transaction of $372,445.43. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,881 shares in the company, valued at $966,189.49. The trade was a 27.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,531 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,764. Insiders own 44.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ICLR. Bank of America boosted their target price on Icon from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Icon in a report on Friday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Icon from $160.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Icon from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Icon to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Icon presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.40.

Icon Stock Performance

ICLR stock opened at $169.68 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $167.27 and its 200-day moving average is $140.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.20. Icon Plc has a twelve month low of $66.57 and a twelve month high of $203.91.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2 billion. Icon had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 3.99%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Icon Plc will post 9.58 EPS for the current year.

Icon Company Profile

ICON plc is a contract research and development organization that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government clients. The company helps sponsors plan, manage and execute clinical development programs, supporting the progression of new medicines and healthcare products from early research through regulatory approval and commercialization.

Its services include clinical trial design and management, clinical data management, biostatistics, pharmacovigilance, regulatory consulting, medical affairs, laboratory services and real-world evidence.

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