Icon Plc $ICLR Stock: Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Reduces Stake

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,009 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,919 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Icon were worth $13,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ICLR. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Icon by 21.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 391 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Icon by 207.5% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 658 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Icon by 1,062.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 918 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 120.0% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 616 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Icon by 804.8% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

Icon Stock Down 0.1%

ICLR stock opened at $185.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $168.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.60. Icon Plc has a one year low of $66.57 and a one year high of $203.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a PE ratio of 43.49, a PEG ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.24.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. The firm 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 revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Icon Plc will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ICLR. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Icon in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Bank of America raised shares of Icon from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Icon in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective (up from $207.00) on shares of Icon in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $194.00 price target on shares of Icon in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Icon has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.73.

Insider Activity at Icon

In related news, Director John Climax sold 5,005 shares of Icon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $875,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,225. This trade represents a 70.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eugene Mccague sold 3,255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $569,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at $666,925. This represents a 46.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,796 shares of company stock worth $3,887,139. Company insiders own 44.00% of the company’s stock.

About Icon

ICON plc is a global contract research organization that provides outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports clinical research programs from early development through late-stage trials, regulatory submission and post-marketing activities.

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