Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Lowers Stock Position in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its stake in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) by 1.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in IDEXX Laboratories were worth $1,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $948,279,000 after purchasing an additional 37,734 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,005,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,163,000 after purchasing an additional 82,264 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,160,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,999,000 after buying an additional 74,324 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 58.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,126,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,865,000 after buying an additional 414,802 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $412,258,000. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of IDEXX Laboratories stock opened at $518.71 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $523.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.00. The company has a market cap of $41.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 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.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.03. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 57.35% and a net margin of 22.76%. The firm had revenue of $998.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $998.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on IDXX shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on IDEXX Laboratories from $548.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $625.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of IDEXX Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IDEXX Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.33.

Insider Transactions at IDEXX Laboratories

In other news, 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 transaction, the director owned 1,801 shares in the company, valued at $922,724.34. This trade represents a 41.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.