Welch & Forbes LLC Grows Position in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Welch & Forbes LLC increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,846 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 527 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.21% of IDEXX Laboratories worth $71,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 45,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,675,000 after buying an additional 1,997 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 14,744 shares of the company's stock worth $6,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Haven Capital Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,666,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the company's stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Performance

IDXX stock traded down $1.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $518.91. 205,688 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 644,305. The company has a market cap of $41.73 billion, a PE ratio of 47.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.54. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 1 year low of $356.14 and a 1 year high of $549.52. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $522.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $998.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $998.25 million. IDEXX Laboratories had a net margin of 22.76% and a return on equity of 57.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other IDEXX Laboratories news, Director M Anne Szostak sold 1,260 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 1,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $922,724.34. This trade represents a 41.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IDXX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partners increased 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. Wall Street Zen raised IDEXX Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $548.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $625.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.33.

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.