Bank of Nova Scotia Lowers Stock Holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. by 49.6%, now owning 26,684 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million after selling 26,243 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including American National Bank & Trust and Golden State Wealth Management LLC, are actively adjusting their stakes in IQVIA, with Golden State increasing its position by 295.5%.
• IQVIA reported earnings of $2.81 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and indicating a 5.3% year-over-year increase in revenue, highlighting strong performance in a competitive market.

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV - Free Report) by 49.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,684 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 26,243 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in IQVIA were worth $4,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 295.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 174 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 66.1% during the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 191 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 89.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IQV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on IQVIA from $209.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on IQVIA from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. HSBC downgraded IQVIA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays upped their price target on IQVIA from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IQVIA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.62.

IQVIA Stock Performance

Shares of IQV stock traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $179.98. The stock had a trading volume of 877,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,400,431. The firm has a market cap of $30.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.30. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.65 and a 1-year high of $252.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $166.23 and its 200-day moving average is $169.45.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.04. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.05% and a net margin of 7.88%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.64 EPS. IQVIA's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at IQVIA

In other IQVIA news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 5,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.05, for a total transaction of $1,102,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,165,178.90. The trade was a 17.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Keriann Cherofsky sold 549 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.53, for a total value of $105,149.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $557,352.30. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About IQVIA

IQVIA Holdings Inc engages in the provision of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions.