Icon Plc $ICLR Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its stake in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,873,977 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 197,383 shares during the quarter. Icon comprises about 1.9% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.09% of Icon worth $1,252,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Icon in the fourth quarter worth about $451,000. Militia Capital Partners LP raised its position in Icon by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 4,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Icon in the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Icon by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 12,001 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in Icon by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Icon Price Performance

NASDAQ ICLR opened at $143.54 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $123.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.26. Icon Plc has a 1 year low of $66.57 and a 1 year high of $211.00.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 17th. The medical research company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. Icon had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 5.98%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Icon Plc will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICLR has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Icon from $139.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Icon from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 price target on shares of Icon and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Icon from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Icon from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.44.

Icon Company 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.