SFE Investment Counsel Invests $11.41 Million in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

SFE Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 59,043 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,408,000. IQVIA comprises approximately 1.5% of SFE Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IQV. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in IQVIA in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in IQVIA by 590.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 138 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in IQVIA during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IQVIA Stock Performance

Shares of IQV stock opened at $236.18 on Friday. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.50 and a 52-week high of $251.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market cap of $38.87 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.09.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The medical research company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.03 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.25% and a net margin of 8.10%.IQVIA’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.800-13.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.57 EPS for the current year.

IQVIA announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.16, for a total transaction of $1,245,800.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,232,110.84. This trade represents a 19.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider W Richard Staub sold 5,500 shares of IQVIA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.68, for a total transaction of $1,279,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,097,436.16. This trade represents a 29.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,913 shares of company stock worth $3,098,793 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IQV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on IQVIA from $225.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. William Blair raised IQVIA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded IQVIA from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of IQVIA from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $220.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.88.

IQVIA 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.