Banco Santander S.A. Acquires New Position in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. has acquired a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., purchasing 2,796 shares valued at approximately $1,174,000.
• Several hedge funds have also recently increased their positions in IDEXX, with 87.84% of the stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts have given IDEXX an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of about $557.88 per share, indicating a generally positive outlook for the company's stock.

Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,174,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IDXX. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in IDEXX Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 55.6% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 84 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 328.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 90 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $722.00 target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of IDEXX Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $625.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $640.00 target price on IDEXX Laboratories in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $550.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IDEXX Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $623.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director M Anne Szostak sold 1,260 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.34, for a total value of $645,548.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $922,724.34. The trade was a 41.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

IDEXX Laboratories Price Performance

IDXX stock traded down $17.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $624.19. 816,294 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 740,817. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $537.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $475.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $50.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.97, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.49. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $356.14 and a fifty-two week high of $688.12.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $3.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 64.42% and a net margin of 24.41%. The business's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. Research analysts predict that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

IDEXX Laboratories Profile

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.