Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Increases Stock Holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 9.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in IQVIA by 7.3% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 140,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,636,000 after purchasing an additional 9,578 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments raised its stake in IQVIA by 55.8% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 12,073 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 4,326 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in IQVIA in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,864,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in IQVIA by 80.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 45,787 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,579,000 after purchasing an additional 20,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in IQVIA in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,365,000. 89.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at IQVIA

In related news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 1,300 shares of IQVIA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.33, for a total value of $320,229.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,812,302.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $266.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of IQVIA from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of IQVIA from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of IQVIA from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of IQVIA from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.27.

IQVIA Stock Down 0.6 %

IQVIA stock traded down $1.31 on Wednesday, hitting $226.99. 150,274 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,060,446. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.93. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.42 and a 1 year high of $261.73.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 28.59% and a net margin of 9.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.25 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.