National Pension Service Increases Stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. by 10.6%, acquiring an additional 30,597 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 317,938 shares worth approximately $56 million.
• Research analysts have set new price targets for IQVIA, with Evercore ISI raising its target to $180 and UBS Group setting a target of $225, reflecting a general positive sentiment for the stock.
• IQVIA reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.81, beating analyst estimates, and achieved a revenue of $4.02 billion, up 5.3% year-over-year.

National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 317,938 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,597 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.18% of IQVIA worth $56,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,282,024 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $841,461,000 after buying an additional 712,958 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 45.7% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,545,014 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $448,686,000 after buying an additional 798,534 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,791,229 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $351,994,000 after acquiring an additional 250,141 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,393,140 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $273,766,000 after acquiring an additional 167,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,387,862 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $272,744,000 after acquiring an additional 214,046 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on IQVIA from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. HSBC cut IQVIA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $260.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on IQVIA from $232.00 to $177.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial increased their price target on IQVIA from $209.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut IQVIA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IQVIA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.62.

IQVIA Price Performance

NYSE IQV traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $192.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,340,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,680. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.65 and a 52 week high of $252.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Insider Activity

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

IQVIA Profile

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.