Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 159,899 Shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Key Points

• Vanguard added 159,899 shares in Q4, bringing its stake to 19,650,532 shares (about 11.54% of IQVIA) valued at roughly $4.43 billion.
• IQVIA beat quarterly expectations with $3.42 EPS (vs. $3.40 est.) and $4.36B revenue (vs. $4.24B est.), with revenue up 10.3% year-over-year and FY2026 EPS guidance set at 12.55–12.85.
• Institutional ownership is high at 89.62%, and analysts skew positive (average consensus rating "Buy") with a consensus price target of $226.63, though several firms recently trimmed their targets.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,650,532 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 159,899 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.54% of IQVIA worth $4,429,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of IQVIA by 244.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 2,537 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of IQVIA by 102.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 4,915 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $514,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of IQVIA by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 92,015 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $14,501,000 after buying an additional 11,845 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of IQVIA by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,731 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,582,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 89.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

IQVIA Stock Up 0.8%

IQV stock opened at $163.66 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $169.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.46. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.65 and a fifty-two week high of $247.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $27.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.39.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The medical research company reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.34%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.550-12.850 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 price target on IQVIA in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on IQVIA from $290.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on IQVIA from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.63.

About IQVIA

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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