Norges Bank Takes $162.79 Million Position in IDEX Corporation $IEX

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in IDEX Corporation, buying 914,850 shares valued at about $162.8 million, or roughly 1.22% of the company.
• IDEX reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS estimates with $2.00 per share and posting revenue of $886.9 million, up 8.9% year over year.
• The company also raised its dividend to $0.73 per share quarterly, while analysts remain generally bullish with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average target price of $241.11.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 914,850 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $162,788,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.22% of IDEX as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of IDEX by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of IDEX by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 199 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of IDEX by 61.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of IDEX by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 577 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of IDEX by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,661 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at IDEX

In other news, CEO Eric D. Ashleman sold 15,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.22, for a total value of $3,311,159.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,346,134.76. This trade represents a 18.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

IDEX Price Performance

IEX opened at $215.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 3.39. IDEX Corporation has a 52-week low of $157.25 and a 52-week high of $223.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $204.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.82.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.22. IDEX had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 14.38%.The firm had revenue of $886.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $845.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. IDEX has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.070-2.120 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.350-8.550 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that IDEX Corporation will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

IDEX Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from IDEX's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. IDEX's dividend payout ratio is 43.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price objective on shares of IDEX in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of IDEX from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of IDEX from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of IDEX from $225.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of IDEX from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, IDEX has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $241.11.

IDEX Profile

IDEX Corporation is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in the design, production and distribution of highly engineered fluidics systems, measurement technologies and safety solutions. The company's core offerings include positive-displacement pumps, flow meters, valves, sampling systems and analytical instruments that serve a wide range of end markets such as water treatment, chemical processing, energy, food and beverage, and life sciences. Through its focus on precision engineering and proprietary material science, IDEX delivers products designed for reliability in demanding applications.

Operations at IDEX are organized into three principal segments.

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