Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 414,802 Shares of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) by 58.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,126,002 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 414,802 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.39% of IDEXX Laboratories worth $472,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 84.8% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 540.0% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 96 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on IDEXX Laboratories from $548.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on IDEXX Laboratories from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on IDEXX Laboratories from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $625.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut IDEXX Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $558.11.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:IDXX traded up $3.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $546.31. 339,027 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 646,940. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 52 week low of $356.14 and a 52 week high of $548.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $510.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $455.17.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $998.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $998.25 million. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 57.35% and a net margin of 22.76%. IDEXX Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IDEXX Laboratories news, Director M Anne Szostak sold 1,260 shares of the business'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 sale, the director owned 1,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,724.34. The trade was a 41.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

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.