KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 62,675 IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 62,675 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,316,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in IQVIA in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,616,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in IQVIA by 47.4% in 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 buying an additional 452,029 shares during the period. Hickory Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in IQVIA in the 4th quarter valued at about $941,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in IQVIA by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Finally, Graphene Investments SAS lifted its position in shares of IQVIA by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Graphene Investments SAS now owns 15,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,948,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. 89.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IQVIA Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE IQV opened at $185.85 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.16. The stock has a market cap of $32.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.50. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $179.28 and a 12-month high of $254.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IQV. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of IQVIA from $255.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens began coverage on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of IQVIA from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of IQVIA from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IQVIA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.05.

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.