IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. $IDXX Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV boosted its stake in IDEXX by 76.9% in Q4, buying 134,493 shares to own 309,380 shares (about 0.39% of the company) valued at roughly $209.3 million.
• Other large institutions (BNY Mellon, JPMorgan, Principal, Invesco and Zurich) also increased positions, leaving institutional and hedge fund ownership at about 87.84% of the stock.
• Analysts have trimmed price targets and some ratings recently, but the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a mean price target of $760.

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) by 76.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 309,380 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 134,493 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.39% of IDEXX Laboratories worth $209,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IDXX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,056,680 shares of the company's stock worth $1,313,992,000 after buying an additional 605,290 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 869,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $555,802,000 after acquiring an additional 326,348 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $143,730,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 16.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,315,722 shares of the company's stock worth $840,638,000 after acquiring an additional 187,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,320,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $843,503,000 after purchasing an additional 161,782 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IDXX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $750.00 to $730.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded IDEXX Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings cut IDEXX Laboratories from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $775.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $775.00 to $750.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IDEXX Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $760.00.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Performance

IDEXX Laboratories stock opened at $580.76 on Thursday. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 12-month low of $398.75 and a 12-month high of $769.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $46.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.72. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $603.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $655.74.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. IDEXX Laboratories had a net margin of 24.62% and a return on equity of 69.78%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. IDEXX Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.290-14.800 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at IDEXX Laboratories

In other IDEXX Laboratories news, Director Sophie V. Vandebroek sold 1,464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.62, for a total transaction of $920,299.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 648 shares in the company, valued at $407,345.76. This trade represents a 69.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nimrata Hunt sold 2,693 shares of IDEXX Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $661.54, for a total value of $1,781,527.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,899 shares in the company, valued at $13,163,984.46. This represents a 11.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 45,957 shares of company stock valued at $29,862,109 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

IDEXX Laboratories Company Profile

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc NASDAQ: IDXX is a global developer, manufacturer and provider of diagnostic products and services primarily for the animal health, water testing and food safety markets. Headquartered in Westbrook, Maine, the company supplies in-clinic diagnostic instruments, consumables, reference laboratory testing and practice-management tools that support veterinarians, livestock and dairy producers, and utilities and food producers worldwide.

IDEXX's product portfolio includes point-of-care tests and immunoassays designed for rapid diagnosis in veterinary clinics, in-clinic chemistry and hematology analyzers, automated urinalysis systems, and digital diagnostic solutions.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IDXX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.