IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. $IDXX Stock: Hager Investment Management Services LLC Raises Holdings

Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,860 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC’s holdings in IDEXX Laboratories were worth $971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in IDEXX Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $628,223,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 911,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,844,000 after buying an additional 39,700 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 52.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 838,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,335,000 after buying an additional 288,471 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 4.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 573,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,145,000 after buying an additional 23,582 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 97.3% in the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 401,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,146,000 after buying an additional 197,808 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key IDEXX Laboratories News

Here are the key news stories impacting IDEXX Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks article says IDEXX’s above-average financial growth could help it outperform, bolstering the growth-investment case. Zacks growth-investor article
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on IDXX, a potentially supportive analyst signal; the available report does not state the revised target. Morgan Stanley price-target report
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat expectations: IDEXX reported EPS of $3.96 versus $3.71 expected and revenue of $1.21 billion versus $1.19 billion expected. Revenue grew 9.9% year over year. IDEXX quarterly results analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Four directors and executives sold a combined 39,225 shares on November 4, worth about $27.4 million, and each reduced their reported holdings. The sales may weigh on sentiment, although insider transactions do not by themselves indicate a negative company outlook. Insider-trading report
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha article downgraded IDXX, arguing the shares are expensive despite the company’s business quality. Valuation concerns could temper the positive effect of earnings growth. IDEXX valuation downgrade

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of IDXX stock opened at $676.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.19. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 1 year low of $500.61 and a 1 year high of $769.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $546.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $573.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.26 billion, a PE ratio of 45.59 and a beta of 1.55.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 71.04% and a net margin of 25.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 15.05 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IDXX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of IDEXX Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $805.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $725.00 to $715.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $627.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $719.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan Mazelsky sold 25,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $703.19, for a total value of $17,678,196.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 83,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,929,431.57. This represents a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel Junius sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $704.07, for a total transaction of $844,884.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,662,309.27. This represents a 33.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,428 shares of company stock valued at $28,567,934. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

IDEXX Laboratories Profile

IDEXX Laboratories develops and sells diagnostic, technology and software products for veterinary, livestock and water-testing markets. Its veterinary offerings include in-clinic diagnostic instruments and tests, reference laboratory services, digital imaging and practice-management software that help veterinary professionals assess animal health and manage their practices.

The company also provides diagnostic tests and related services for livestock and poultry, as well as products used to monitor water quality.