Prudential PLC Increases Holdings in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 15.6%, owning 60,886 shares valued at approximately $25.6 million by the end of the first quarter.
• Insider transactions revealed that two executives sold significant amounts of their shares on August 6th, leading to substantial decreases in their ownership percentages.
• IDEXX Laboratories reported better-than-expected earnings, with $3.63 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analyst forecasts and reflecting a 10.6% year-over-year revenue increase.

Prudential PLC boosted its stake in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) by 15.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,886 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,214 shares during the period. Prudential PLC owned approximately 0.08% of IDEXX Laboratories worth $25,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IDXX. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 26,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 143,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,375,000 after acquiring an additional 7,331 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 430.7% during the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 5,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 4,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,962,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $887,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

IDEXX Laboratories Price Performance

IDXX stock traded down $3.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $650.84. The company had a trading volume of 417,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 732,212. The company has a market capitalization of $52.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.49. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 12-month low of $356.14 and a 12-month high of $688.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $555.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $485.51.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $550.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of IDEXX Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $625.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $640.00 target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $700.00 target price (up previously from $510.00) on shares of IDEXX Laboratories in a research note on Monday. Three equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $649.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jonathan Jay Mazelsky sold 29,260 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.98, for a total transaction of $18,491,734.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,650,885.78. This represents a 25.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sharon E. Underberg sold 5,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $651.60, for a total transaction of $3,551,220.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,156 shares in the company, valued at $4,011,249.60. This represents a 46.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,176 shares of company stock worth $34,060,678. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.