Parthenon LLC Increases Stake in Icon Plc $ICLR

Parthenon LLC raised its stake in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 79,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,815 shares during the period. Icon comprises 1.5% of Parthenon LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Icon were worth $13,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in 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 valued at $1,045,039,000 after buying an additional 2,893,946 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 650,379 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 98,032 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,489 shares during the period. Finally, Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 453,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Icon from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Icon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Mizuho set a $216.00 price objective on Icon in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Bank of America lowered Icon from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group set a $220.00 target price on Icon in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.60.

Icon Stock Performance

Icon stock opened at $186.70 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $181.38 and its 200 day moving average is $175.53. The company has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.26. Icon Plc has a twelve month low of $125.10 and a twelve month high of $211.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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.