AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 70,150 Shares of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) by 133.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,679 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 70,150 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.15% of IDEXX Laboratories worth $50,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in IDEXX Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP George Fennell sold 9,986 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.53, for a total transaction of $4,618,824.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,176 shares in the company, valued at $3,781,645.28. The trade was a 54.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director M Anne Szostak sold 3,000 shares of IDEXX Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.94, for a total value of $1,397,820.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,426,242.34. This represents a 49.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of IDXX traded up $4.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $478.25. The stock had a trading volume of 173,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,726. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $38.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.82, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.52. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 52 week low of $356.14 and a 52 week high of $548.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $420.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $428.49.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.03. IDEXX Laboratories had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 55.82%. The firm had revenue of $998.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $998.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IDXX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of IDEXX Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $481.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $475.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $435.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $548.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, IDEXX Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $524.75.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc develops, manufactures, and distributes products primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets in Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy.