Updating MACY’S INC., STATE STREET CORP. and IDEXX LABORATORIES INC.

Article Excerpt

MACY’S INC. $25 (www.macys.com) reported that sales rose 1.6% at its 850 department stores in March 2011, to $2.21 billion from $2.17 billion in March 2010. Same-store sales rose 0.9%. The company expects same-store sales to rise by 8% to 9% in April 2011 from a year earlier, due to a cosmetics promotion and the later Easter holiday. Buy. STATE STREET CORP. $47 (www.statestreet.com) sells accounting and administrative services to large institutional investors, such as mutual funds and pension plans. The company continues to benefit from its recent acquisitions and improving financial markets. In the first quarter of 2011, State Street earned $0.88 a share, up 17.3% from $0.75 a year earlier. Buy. IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $81 (www.idexx.com) is seeing improving demand for its veterinary products. However, at over 30 times its projected 2011 earnings, the stock is vulnerable to an earnings setback or other bad news. Hold. Hold…