194,618 Shares in Icon Plc $ICLR Purchased by Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new stake in shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 194,618 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,807,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor owned approximately 0.25% of Icon as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ICLR. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Icon by 26.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,637,137 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $811,499,000 after acquiring an additional 975,268 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 4,214,661 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,996,000 after purchasing an additional 75,843 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,756,896 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $684,582,000 after purchasing an additional 329,266 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Icon by 10.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,311,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $366,481,000 after buying an additional 310,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Icon by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,993,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $545,410,000 after buying an additional 239,808 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Icon Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $163.15 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $162.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Icon Plc has a 12-month low of $66.57 and a 12-month high of $203.91.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Icon had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 3.99%.Icon’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Icon Plc will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Icon from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Icon from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $126.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Leerink Partners set a $145.00 price objective on Icon in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Icon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Icon news, Director Anne Clem Whitaker sold 841 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $138,167.89. Following the transaction, the director owned 891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $146,382.39. The trade was a 48.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Nigel Bernard John Clerkin sold 2,267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total transaction of $372,445.43. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,189.49. This trade represents a 27.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,531 shares of company stock worth $1,565,764. 44.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.