IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV Shares Sold by Cantillon Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Cantillon Capital Management cut its IQVIA stake by 11.9% in Q1, selling 230,248 shares and leaving it with 1.71 million shares worth about $291.8 million.
• IQVIA's latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $2.90 versus $2.83 expected and revenue of $4.15 billion, up 8.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall: IQVIA has a Moderate Buy rating consensus, an average price target of $225.71, and the company recently authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program.

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lowered its position in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV - Free Report) by 11.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,710,896 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 230,248 shares during the period. IQVIA comprises approximately 1.9% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 1.01% of IQVIA worth $291,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in IQVIA during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in IQVIA in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in IQVIA in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of IQVIA by 590.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 138 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on IQV shares. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of IQVIA from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded IQVIA from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded IQVIA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.71.

IQVIA Stock Performance

Shares of IQV stock opened at $206.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $34.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $185.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.88. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.50 and a 1-year high of $247.04. 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 (NYSE:IQV - Get Free Report) last released 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. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.33%.The business had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.57 EPS for the current year.

IQVIA announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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