Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stock Holdings in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System has reduced its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. by 12.5%, now owning 3,799 shares worth approximately $1.6 million.
• Analysts have been optimistic about IDEXX, with JPMorgan raising its target price from $550 to $675 and most ratings indicating a consensus of "Moderate Buy."
• In the latest quarter, IDEXX Laboratories reported an EPS of $3.63, exceeding expectations and showing a 10.6% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,799 shares of the company's stock after selling 541 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in IDEXX Laboratories were worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Waycross Partners LLC grew its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 40,953 shares of the company's stock worth $17,198,000 after buying an additional 8,515 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 360,277 shares of the company's stock worth $151,298,000 after buying an additional 2,798 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 555,190 shares of the company's stock worth $233,152,000 after buying an additional 23,498 shares during the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in IDEXX Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $1,529,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,050 shares of the company's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IDXX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on IDEXX Laboratories from $550.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $640.00 price target on IDEXX Laboratories in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $722.00 price target on IDEXX Laboratories and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $625.00 price target for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IDEXX Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $623.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nimrata Hunt sold 7,143 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $630.43, for a total value of $4,503,161.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,352,153.01. This represents a 28.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director M Anne Szostak sold 1,260 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 47,120 shares of company stock worth $29,457,738. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of IDXX stock opened at $658.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a PE ratio of 54.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $479.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 52-week low of $356.14 and a 52-week high of $688.12.

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

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