IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV Position Boosted by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 143,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $38,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IQV. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in IQVIA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,811,292,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in IQVIA by 9.0% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,634,264 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,772,000 after purchasing an additional 134,997 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of IQVIA by 4.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,657,696 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $282,657,000 after buying an additional 66,643 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in IQVIA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $240,911,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in IQVIA during the second quarter worth about $235,551,000. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IQVIA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IQV opened at $271.45 on Friday. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.50 and a 12 month high of $284.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $266.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.03.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The medical research company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 30.02%. IQVIA’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IQVIA

In other news, insider James G. Berkshire sold 2,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.33, for a total value of $697,228.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,845,883.70. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on IQV shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on IQVIA from $191.00 to $179.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of IQVIA from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of IQVIA from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on shares of IQVIA from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.21.

About IQVIA

IQVIA Holdings Inc provides clinical research services, healthcare data and analytics, and technology solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical-device, and other healthcare organizations. Its services support the development and commercialization of medicines and other healthcare products.

The company’s offerings include clinical trial planning and management, real-world data and evidence, consulting, and software and technology platforms for life sciences research and commercial operations.