South Dakota Investment Council Acquires New Stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 12,529 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,462,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in IQVIA by 38.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,887,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $684,213,000 after acquiring an additional 804,963 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in IQVIA in the third quarter valued at $147,683,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in IQVIA by 46.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,845,711 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,378,000 after acquiring an additional 583,396 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in IQVIA by 47.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in IQVIA by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 616,299 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $121,109,000 after acquiring an additional 250,458 shares during the period. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IQVIA Stock Down 1.6 %

IQV opened at $190.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $199.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.25. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.62 and a 12 month high of $261.73.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at IQVIA

In other IQVIA news, Director John G. Danhakl purchased 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $200.58 per share, for a total transaction of $255,739.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $255,739.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IQV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research downgraded IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on IQVIA from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stephens began coverage on IQVIA in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on IQVIA from $240.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on IQVIA from $273.00 to $261.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.