Royal Bank of Canada Increases Position in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 472,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,911 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $92,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IQVIA during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in IQVIA during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in IQVIA during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in IQVIA by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 239 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in IQVIA during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

IQVIA Stock Up 0.4%

IQV stock opened at $143.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.99 and a 200 day moving average of $185.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.97 and a 52 week high of $252.88.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical research company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 28.81%. IQVIA’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IQV has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC lowered shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of IQVIA from $273.00 to $261.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of IQVIA from $263.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of IQVIA from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.14.

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.