10,208 Shares in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV Purchased by WealthShield Partners LLC

Key Points

• WealthShield Partners LLC disclosed a new first-quarter stake in IQVIA Holdings, buying 10,208 shares worth about $1.74 million.
• Institutional ownership in IQVIA remains very high at 89.62%, with several large funds recently adding to their positions, including Boston Partners and Norges Bank.
• IQVIA posted better-than-expected earnings and revenue in its latest quarter, and its board also approved a $2 billion share buyback, which could signal management believes the stock is undervalued.

WealthShield Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 10,208 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,741,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA during the third quarter valued at approximately $676,698,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in IQVIA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $497,445,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in IQVIA by 2,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,675,479 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $377,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614,063 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its stake in IQVIA by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,901,091 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $428,525,000 after purchasing an additional 933,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of IQVIA by 130.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,555,298 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $245,099,000 after purchasing an additional 879,701 shares during the period. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IQV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on IQVIA from $230.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of IQVIA from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $240.00 price objective on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Thursday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.82.

IQVIA Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE IQV traded down $0.84 on Friday, hitting $208.13. 747,394 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,464,238. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.50 and a twelve month high of $247.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50 day moving average price is $181.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.78.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.07. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.33% and a return on equity of 30.50%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. Analysts predict that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IQVIA announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About IQVIA

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IQV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.