IDEX Corporation $IEX Shares Bought by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in IDEX Corporation by 12.7% during the second quarter, now owning 65,120 shares valued at approximately $11.43 million.
• IDEX has initiated a $1 billion share buyback program, indicating the company's belief that its shares are undervalued.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, equating to a 1.7% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 45.88%.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,120 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,314 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.09% of IDEX worth $11,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in IDEX by 257.5% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 143 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in IDEX during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. acquired a new position in shares of IDEX in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of IDEX in the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of IDEX by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 333 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 97.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on IEX. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of IDEX from $238.00 to $204.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $180.00 target price on shares of IDEX and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of IDEX from $207.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of IDEX in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $210.00 target price on shares of IDEX in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.43.

IDEX Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IEX opened at $163.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $163.28 and a 200 day moving average of $172.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 3.05. IDEX Corporation has a one year low of $153.36 and a one year high of $238.22.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter. IDEX had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $712.00 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that IDEX Corporation will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDEX announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

IDEX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. IDEX's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.88%.

IDEX Company Profile

IDEX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides applied solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Fluid & Metering Technologies (FMT), Health & Science Technologies (HST), and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products (FSDP). The FMT segment designs, produces, and distributes positive displacement pumps, valves, small volume provers, flow meters, injectors, and other fluid-handling pump modules and systems, as well as flow monitoring and other services for the food, chemical, general industrial, water and wastewater, agricultural, and energy industries.

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