Cantillon Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Key Points

• Cantillon Capital Management increased its IQVIA stake by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.94 million shares valued at about $437.6 million.
• IQVIA continues to draw heavy institutional interest, with 89.62% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutions; several firms also added to positions last quarter.
• Recent company and analyst updates were generally positive: IQVIA beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, authorized a $2 billion share buyback, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Buy with an average target price of $224.13.

Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its position in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,941,144 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,210 shares during the quarter. IQVIA accounts for approximately 2.4% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 1.14% of IQVIA worth $437,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in IQVIA by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 135,471 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,537,000 after purchasing an additional 12,317 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 505,239 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $113,886,000 after acquiring an additional 86,016 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 52.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,614 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,196,000 after acquiring an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in IQVIA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of IQVIA by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 1,236 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 89.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on IQV. HSBC set a $210.00 price target on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $225.00 target price on IQVIA in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on IQVIA from $290.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded IQVIA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded IQVIA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $174.00 to $213.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.13.

IQVIA Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:IQV opened at $183.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $30.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.21. The business's 50 day moving average is $172.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.62 and a 52 week high of $247.04.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.07. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.33%.The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. The firm'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. On average, analysts predict that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.6 EPS for the current year.

IQVIA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

IQVIA 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.

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.