Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 3,119 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of IQVIA worth $35,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in IQVIA by 244.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of IQVIA by 102.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 4,915 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 2nd quarter valued at $514,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in IQVIA by 1.7% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 64,675 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 89.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on IQV. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on IQVIA from $234.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $177.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of IQVIA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of IQVIA in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on IQVIA from $265.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.88.

Trending Headlines about IQVIA

Here are the key news stories impacting IQVIA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — EPS of $3.42 and revenue of $4.36B, with double‑digit year‑over‑year sales growth and strong segment performance. These beats confirm demand improvement from pharma clients. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company provided FY‑2026 guidance (EPS 12.55–12.85; revenue ~$17.2–17.4B) that includes revenue growth expectations above some street estimates — this supports top‑line momentum if execution continues. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market takeaways from the quarter are mixed: strong near‑term results but mixed messaging on margins and expense drivers; investors are parsing detail in the call and slides. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged higher interest costs that push 2026 profit expectations below some Street forecasts — this hit the stock because financing costs directly compress EPS despite revenue strength. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Headline guidance/adjusted‑earnings outlook was viewed as a miss by some investors and commentators, prompting downside pressure immediately after results. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts are questioning how quickly IQVIA’s AI initiatives will translate into meaningful revenue or margin gains, increasing near‑term uncertainty around growth assumptions. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Some firms are trimming ratings amid sector headwinds and the mixed outlook, further pressuring sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary summarizing these factors is driving intraday selling and positioning adjustments. Read More.

IQVIA Trading Down 10.8%

Shares of NYSE IQV opened at $180.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.37. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.65 and a 1-year high of $247.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $228.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The medical research company reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.70% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.550-12.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 EPS for the current year.

IQVIA Company 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.