Sterling Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 43.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,689 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,326 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IQV. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in IQVIA by 102.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 4,915 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in IQVIA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $514,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 11,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 5.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,731 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

IQVIA Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE IQV opened at $193.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.44. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.50 and a 12 month high of $247.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.21.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last announced its quarterly 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. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.33% and a return on equity of 30.50%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. IQVIA’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. Equities analysts expect that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

IQVIA declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of IQVIA in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of IQVIA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $174.00 to $213.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued 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. Barclays upgraded shares of IQVIA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.56.

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.