Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Holdings in Icon Plc $ICLR

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) by 192.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,188 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,625 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Icon were worth $3,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Icon by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Icon by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Icon by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Icon by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 643 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Icon by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Icon from $200.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised Icon from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 price objective on Icon and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Icon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

Icon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $116.78 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.44 and its 200 day moving average is $142.81. Icon Plc has a fifty-two week low of $66.57 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

About Icon

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.