LGT Group Foundation Increases Stock Holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 238,108 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the quarter. IQVIA makes up approximately 1.2% of LGT Group Foundation’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. LGT Group Foundation owned 0.13% of IQVIA worth $55,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in IQVIA by 327.6% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 124 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in IQVIA in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in IQVIA in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in IQVIA in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in IQVIA in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

IQVIA Stock Down 3.8 %

IQV stock traded down $8.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $224.13. 503,845 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 957,995. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.42 and a 12-month high of $261.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $245.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.52.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.02. IQVIA had a return on equity of 29.32% and a net margin of 9.06%. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.54 EPS. IQVIA’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at IQVIA

In related news, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 8,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $2,153,213.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,313,642.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other IQVIA news, insider Ari Bousbib sold 31,678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.53, for a total transaction of $7,936,289.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 796,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,610,278.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 8,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $2,153,213.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,642.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,285 shares of company stock worth $10,331,003 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IQV. UBS Group lifted their price objective on IQVIA from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on IQVIA from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on IQVIA from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink began coverage on IQVIA in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on IQVIA from $226.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, IQVIA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.43.

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.