IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel lowered its stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,206 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,837 shares during the quarter. IQVIA accounts for 2.1% of SFE Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $14,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IQV. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in IQVIA during the second quarter valued at about $2,811,292,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of IQVIA in the 2nd quarter worth about $240,911,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of IQVIA in the 2nd quarter worth about $235,551,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $211,342,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $180,296,000. 89.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQV opened at $266.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $266.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.41. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.50 and a 52-week high of $284.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.99 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.83.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The medical research company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.08. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at IQVIA

In other news, insider W. Richard Staub sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.68, for a total value of $1,279,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,312 shares in the company, valued at $3,097,436.16. This trade represents a 29.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James G. Berkshire sold 2,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.33, for a total transaction of $697,228.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,890 shares in the company, valued at $2,845,883.70. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IQV has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on IQVIA from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of IQVIA from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of IQVIA from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on IQVIA from $284.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.21.

About IQVIA

IQVIA Holdings Inc is a global provider of technology, analytics and contract research services for the life sciences industry. The company helps pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device organizations develop, commercialize and improve products by combining healthcare data with advanced analytics, consulting and technology-enabled services.

Its offerings include clinical research and trial management, real-world evidence, healthcare data and analytics, regulatory and safety services, technology platforms, and commercial solutions.