GW&K Investment Management LLC Grows Position in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,496 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC's holdings in IDEXX Laboratories were worth $14,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 55.6% in the 1st 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 grew its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 84.8% in the 4th 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, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 540.0% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 96 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

IDEXX Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of IDXX traded up $9.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $549.97. 625,342 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 709,005. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $524.89 and a 200-day moving average of $465.15. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a one year low of $356.14 and a one year high of $551.10. The firm has a market cap of $44.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.83, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 57.35% and a net margin of 22.76%. The firm had revenue of $998.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $998.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at IDEXX Laboratories

In other IDEXX Laboratories news, Director M Anne Szostak sold 1,260 shares of the company'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 owned 1,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $922,724.34. This represents a 41.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

IDEXX Laboratories Company 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.