Welch & Forbes LLC Has $95.09 Million Position in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 171,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,118 shares during the period. IDEXX Laboratories makes up about 1.4% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC owned approximately 0.21% of IDEXX Laboratories worth $95,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of IDXX. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 0.7% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,199,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,700,000 after purchasing an additional 7,812 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 4.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,064,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,482,000 after purchasing an additional 48,095 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 7.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 919,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,935,000 after purchasing an additional 65,891 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 1.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 815,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,753,000 after purchasing an additional 11,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 8.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 801,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,373,000 after purchasing an additional 65,760 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of IDEXX Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of IDEXX Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $655.00 to $570.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, IDEXX Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $580.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP George Fennell sold 8,198 shares of IDEXX Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $573.87, for a total transaction of $4,704,586.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,851,815.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP George Fennell sold 8,198 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $573.87, for a total transaction of $4,704,586.26. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,851,815.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian P. Mckeon sold 23,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.01, for a total value of $13,296,053.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,939,557.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,524 shares of company stock valued at $24,871,960. 2.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Performance

IDEXX Laboratories stock traded down $3.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $476.87. 298,172 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,893. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $372.50 and a fifty-two week high of $583.39. The stock has a market cap of $39.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $521.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $513.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $901.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $891.88 million. IDEXX Laboratories had a net margin of 23.26% and a return on equity of 63.66%. IDEXX Laboratories’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.05 EPS for the current fiscal 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.