Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,886,755 Shares of Icon Plc $ICLR

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 739.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,277,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,886,755 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Icon were worth $573,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ICLR. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Icon by 67.4% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,184,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,045,039,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,946 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Icon by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,752,008 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $545,730,000 after purchasing an additional 650,379 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Icon by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,085,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $448,858,000 after purchasing an additional 98,032 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in Icon by 0.4% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,006,141 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $526,075,000 after purchasing an additional 12,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. grew its holdings in Icon by 36.2% during the second quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 1,708,183 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $248,455,000 after purchasing an additional 453,833 shares during the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Icon Stock Down 3.0%

NASDAQ ICLR opened at $180.25 on Friday. Icon Plc has a twelve month low of $125.10 and a twelve month high of $211.00. The stock has a market cap of $14.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ICLR. Robert W. Baird set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Icon from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Icon in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho set a $216.00 price objective on Icon in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Icon in a report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Icon currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.60.

Icon Profile

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.