Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 86,016 Shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 505,239 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 86,016 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $113,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,278,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 46,332 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,800,000 after buying an additional 11,657 shares during the period. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd bought a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,368,000. AMG National Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,713,000. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 344,103 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $65,359,000 after buying an additional 61,725 shares during the period. 89.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

IQVIA Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:IQV opened at $182.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.21. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $153.01 and a one year high of $247.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $173.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.08.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.33%.IQVIA’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.6 EPS for the current year.

IQVIA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IQV shares. Morgan Stanley set a $225.00 price target on IQVIA in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered IQVIA from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. HSBC set a $210.00 price objective on IQVIA in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on IQVIA in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $224.13.

About IQVIA

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.