IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Stake Lessened by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 38.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 66,654 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.06% of IQVIA worth $24,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IQV. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 5.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,773 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in IQVIA by 21.7% during the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,588 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in IQVIA by 13.9% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 21,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. increased its stake in IQVIA by 9.1% during the third quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 1,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in IQVIA by 9.9% during the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,965 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

IQVIA Stock Performance

IQV stock opened at $231.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.28. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.42 and a fifty-two week high of $261.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.02. IQVIA had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 29.32%. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.54 EPS. IQVIA’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on IQV. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of IQVIA from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of IQVIA from $226.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of IQVIA from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of IQVIA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at IQVIA

In other IQVIA news, insider Ari Bousbib sold 31,678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.53, for a total value of $7,936,289.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 796,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,610,278.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other IQVIA news, insider Ari Bousbib sold 31,678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.53, for a total transaction of $7,936,289.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 796,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,610,278.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 8,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $2,153,213.19. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,313,642.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,285 shares of company stock valued at $10,331,003. 1.60% of the stock is owned by 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.