Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Holdings in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 18.6%, owning 170,832 shares after acquiring an additional 26,821 shares valued at approximately $71.74 million.
• IDEXX Laboratories reported $3.63 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.28, with year-over-year revenue growth of 10.6%.
• Wall Street analysts have set a new average price target of $623.56 for IDEXX shares, with the stock receiving an overall "Moderate Buy" rating from analysts.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,832 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,821 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.21% of IDEXX Laboratories worth $71,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in IDEXX Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 55.6% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 84 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 328.6% in the first quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 90 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 540.0% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 96 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IDEXX Laboratories news, EVP Nimrata Hunt sold 7,143 shares of IDEXX Laboratories stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $630.43, for a total value of $4,503,161.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,352,153.01. This trade represents a 28.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director M Anne Szostak sold 1,260 shares of IDEXX Laboratories stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.34, for a total transaction of $645,548.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,724.34. This trade represents a 41.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,570 shares of company stock worth $33,008,958 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

IDEXX Laboratories Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ IDXX traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $652.27. 506,372 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 736,616. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 1-year low of $356.14 and a 1-year high of $688.12. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $547.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $481.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.18 billion, a PE ratio of 54.31, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.11.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IDXX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of IDEXX Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $545.00 to $785.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $640.00 target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $550.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $722.00 price objective on shares of IDEXX Laboratories and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $644.67.

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.