IFM Investors Pty Ltd Increases Stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,523 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $6,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of IQVIA by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,131,734 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,956,087,000 after purchasing an additional 105,504 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in IQVIA by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,282,024 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $841,461,000 after buying an additional 712,958 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in IQVIA by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,175,524 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $818,315,000 after buying an additional 77,981 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in IQVIA by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,260 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $509,012,000 after buying an additional 902,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in IQVIA by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,438,726 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $481,380,000 after buying an additional 59,426 shares during the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IQVIA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IQV opened at $164.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $150.86 and a 200 day moving average of $173.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $134.65 and a one year high of $252.88.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical research company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.07. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 29.16%. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on IQV shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of IQVIA from $255.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.32.

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.