Royal Bank of Canada Sells 79,539 Shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. by 16.8% during the first quarter, now holding approximately $69.22 million worth of shares.
• IQVIA reported $2.81 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating the consensus estimate, and has set FY 2025 guidance at 11.750-12.050 EPS.
• Major equities analysts have given IQVIA a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price averaging $229.86.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV - Free Report) by 16.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 392,647 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 79,539 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.23% of IQVIA worth $69,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in IQVIA by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in IQVIA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $284,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in IQVIA by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,255,535 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $246,725,000 after acquiring an additional 291,816 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in IQVIA by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 61,023 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $11,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in IQVIA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,422,000. 89.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at IQVIA

In other IQVIA news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 5,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 $5,165,178.90. The trade was a 17.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Keriann Cherofsky sold 549 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.53, for a total transaction of $105,149.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $557,352.30. This represents a 15.87% 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 Trading Up 1.2%

IQVIA stock traded up $2.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $189.88. 777,221 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,913,585. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.20. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.65 and a 52 week high of $248.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.04. IQVIA had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 30.05%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. IQVIA's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. IQVIA has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.750-12.050 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on IQV shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of IQVIA from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of IQVIA in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $159.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, IQVIA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.64.

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.