IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Shares Bought by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,147 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,616,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,637 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,894 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,405,281 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $277,908,000 after acquiring an additional 452,029 shares in the last quarter. Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 4th quarter valued at $941,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQV opened at $190.98 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $199.41 and a 200-day moving average of $215.63. The company has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.48. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.62 and a 1-year high of $261.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.11 by ($0.21). IQVIA had a return on equity of 28.81% and a net margin of 8.91%. Equities analysts expect that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at IQVIA

In other IQVIA news, Director John G. Danhakl acquired 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $200.58 per share, with a total value of $255,739.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $255,739.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on IQV. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 target price (up previously from $261.00) on shares of IQVIA in a report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of IQVIA from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens began coverage on shares of IQVIA in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of IQVIA from $255.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $240.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.22.

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.