Walter Public Investments Inc. Invests $14.81 Million in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Walter Public Investments Inc. bought a new position in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 65,704 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,810,000. IQVIA accounts for about 2.6% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of IQV. Boston Partners bought a new position in IQVIA in the 3rd quarter worth about $676,698,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in IQVIA in the 4th quarter worth about $497,445,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in IQVIA by 130.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,555,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $245,099,000 after purchasing an additional 879,701 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in IQVIA by 108.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 915,183 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,830,000 after purchasing an additional 475,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in IQVIA by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,773,984 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $526,891,000 after purchasing an additional 367,204 shares in the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IQV. Barclays upgraded shares of IQVIA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of IQVIA from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of IQVIA from $290.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $225.00 price target on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of IQVIA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.69.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQV opened at $182.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.18. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $136.41 and a 52-week high of $247.04.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.57 EPS for the current year.

IQVIA announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

IQVIA Company 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.