Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 104,892 Shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 19.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 436,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 104,892 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of IQVIA worth $68,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IQV. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in IQVIA during the second quarter worth about $3,612,000. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Heritage Investors Management Corp increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 104,704 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $16,500,000 after purchasing an additional 9,909 shares during the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 78.7% in the 2nd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 9,256 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in IQVIA by 41.7% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,060,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $326,274,000 after purchasing an additional 606,391 shares during the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.70, for a total transaction of $878,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,108 shares in the company, valued at $5,955,627.60. The trade was a 12.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQV stock opened at $228.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $206.64 and a 200-day moving average of $181.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.34. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.65 and a 12 month high of $228.77.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 30.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. IQVIA has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.850-11.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised IQVIA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $258.00 price objective on shares of IQVIA and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of IQVIA from $177.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of IQVIA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.61.

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.