Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 196,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of IQVIA worth $33,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of IQV. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its stake in shares of IQVIA by 174.3% during the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 12,827 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 8,151 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 55,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,585,000 after purchasing an additional 10,762 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC acquired a new stake in IQVIA during the 4th quarter valued at $15,724,000. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its holdings in IQVIA by 268.1% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 188,707 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $42,536,000 after purchasing an additional 137,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in IQVIA by 1,791.6% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 154,618 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,852,000 after buying an additional 146,444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on IQVIA from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IQVIA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.71.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQV opened at $206.26 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $185.04 and a 200-day moving average of $187.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.50 and a 1-year high of $247.04.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.33% and a return on equity of 30.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. Equities analysts expect that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IQVIA announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

IQVIA Profile

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.