Lazard Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,858,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 38,116 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.11% of IQVIA worth $317,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 102.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 4,915 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 2nd quarter worth $514,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 14.8% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 92,015 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,501,000 after acquiring an additional 11,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in IQVIA by 5.4% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,731 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

IQVIA Stock Up 0.1%

IQVIA stock opened at $208.22 on Monday. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.50 and a 1-year high of $247.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $188.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.20.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.33%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IQVIA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IQV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised IQVIA from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $240.00 target price on IQVIA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.71.

About IQVIA

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.