Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 105,504 Shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,131,734 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,504 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of IQVIA worth $3,956,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in IQVIA in the fourth quarter valued at $236,120,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of IQVIA by 396.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,134,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $222,987,000 after purchasing an additional 905,960 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in IQVIA by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,887,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $684,213,000 after purchasing an additional 804,963 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in IQVIA by 46.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,845,711 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,378,000 after buying an additional 583,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in IQVIA by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,405,281 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $277,908,000 after buying an additional 452,029 shares during the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on IQVIA from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens began coverage on IQVIA in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research downgraded shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.05.

IQVIA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IQV opened at $186.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $179.28 and a fifty-two week high of $254.54.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by ($0.21). IQVIA had a return on equity of 28.81% and a net margin of 8.91%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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.