Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,048 Shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,357 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,048 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $9,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in IQVIA during the third quarter valued at approximately $148,096,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in IQVIA during the third quarter valued at approximately $102,982,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in IQVIA by 1,225.3% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 320,271 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $63,013,000 after purchasing an additional 296,105 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in IQVIA by 2,765.6% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 271,316 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,381,000 after purchasing an additional 261,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in IQVIA by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,039,436 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $240,505,000 after purchasing an additional 260,271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

IQVIA Stock Down 4.6 %

IQV opened at $222.14 on Friday. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.42 and a fifty-two week high of $261.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $244.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.84. The company has a market capitalization of $40.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.52.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.02. IQVIA had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 29.32%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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 Buying and Selling at IQVIA

In other IQVIA news, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 8,607 shares of IQVIA stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 5,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,313,642.67. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other IQVIA news, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 8,607 shares of IQVIA stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 5,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,313,642.67. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Sherbet sold 1,000 shares of IQVIA stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $241,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,031,894. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,285 shares of company stock valued at $10,331,003. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on IQVIA from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Monday, February 26th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $286.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.43.

IQVIA Company 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.