SFE Investment Counsel Raises Stock Position in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

SFE Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,903 shares during the quarter. IQVIA accounts for about 1.4% of SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $8,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in IQVIA by 248.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 78,755 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 56,151 shares during the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC acquired a new position in IQVIA during the first quarter worth about $1,741,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,811 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its stake in IQVIA by 335.8% in the 1st quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 46,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,879,000 after buying an additional 35,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 14.2% in the first quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IQVIA Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of IQV stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $208.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 747,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,464,238. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.50 and a 12-month high of $247.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.78.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.33%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IQVIA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on IQV. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of IQVIA from $230.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $240.00 price objective on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of IQVIA from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.82.

IQVIA Company Profile

IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) is a global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and contract research services to the life sciences industry. The company combines clinical research capabilities with large-scale health data and analytics to support drug development, regulatory reporting, commercial strategy and real?world evidence generation. IQVIA traces its current form to the combination of Quintiles and IMS Health announced in 2016 and subsequently rebranded as IQVIA, bringing together long-established clinical research operations and extensive healthcare information assets.

IQVIA’s principal activities include outsourced clinical development services (acting as a contract research organization for phases I–IV), real?world evidence and observational research, regulatory and safety services, and a suite of technology platforms that enable data integration, analytics and operational management.