Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Cuts Stock Position in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lessened its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,278 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,326 shares during the quarter. IDEXX Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.3% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. owned 0.08% of IDEXX Laboratories worth $27,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IDXX. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 55.6% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 84 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 540.0% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 96 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on IDXX shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $625.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded IDEXX Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $548.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.33.

Insider Activity at IDEXX Laboratories

In other news, Director M Anne Szostak sold 1,260 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,801 shares in the company, valued at $922,724.34. The trade was a 41.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Performance

IDXX stock traded up $15.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $565.19. 1,071,471 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 711,595. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $525.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $465.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $45.45 billion, a PE ratio of 52.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.54. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 1 year low of $356.14 and a 1 year high of $568.47.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $998.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $998.25 million. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 57.35% and a net margin of 22.76%. IDEXX Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.