Icon Plc $ICLR Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 739.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,277,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,886,755 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 4.06% of Icon worth $573,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Icon by 12.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,418 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Icon during the 3rd quarter worth $215,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Icon by 17,066.7% during the 3rd quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,605 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 3,584 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Icon by 180.1% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 224,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,337,000 after acquiring an additional 144,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EFG Asset Management North America Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Icon during the third quarter worth $1,984,000. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Icon Trading Down 3.0%

NASDAQ ICLR opened at $180.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Icon Plc has a 1-year low of $125.10 and a 1-year high of $211.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.62. The company has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ICLR shares. Barclays increased their price target on Icon from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Icon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Icon in a report on Monday, January 5th. Mizuho set a $216.00 price target on shares of Icon in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $222.00 price objective (down from $231.00) on shares of Icon in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Icon presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.60.

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.