Principal Securities Inc. Purchases Shares of 21,504 IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,504 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $4,976,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IQV. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in IQVIA by 3.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 20,753 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,083,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in IQVIA by 11.8% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its holdings in IQVIA by 47.8% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,161,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in IQVIA during the third quarter worth $372,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in IQVIA by 53.8% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 620 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQVIA stock traded up $4.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $234.08. 1,261,997 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 881,998. The stock has a market cap of $42.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $167.42 and a one year high of $261.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $242.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.43.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 29.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on IQV shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on IQVIA from $254.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on IQVIA from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Leerink Partnrs restated an "outperform" rating on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on IQVIA from $297.00 to $292.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on IQVIA in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 1,000 shares of IQVIA stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $241,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,031,894. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 1,000 shares of IQVIA stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $241,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,031,894. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 8,607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $2,153,213.19. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,251 shares in the company, valued at $1,313,642.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,285 shares of company stock valued at $10,331,003 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.