R Squared Ltd Buys Shares of 1,750 IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX)

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd has acquired 1,750 shares of IDEX Corporation, valued at approximately $317,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• IDEX reported quarterly earnings of $2.07 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue totaling $865.40 million, a 7.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IEX. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of IDEX by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 143 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new stake in IDEX in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in IDEX by 63.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 224 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in IDEX in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 97.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at IDEX

In other IDEX news, CFO Akhil Mahendra sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.89, for a total transaction of $45,222.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $910,781.15. This trade represents a 4.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

IDEX Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:IEX opened at $159.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $179.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 3.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.04. IDEX Corporation has a 52-week low of $153.36 and a 52-week high of $238.22.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $865.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $858.59 million. IDEX had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 14.05%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that IDEX Corporation will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDEX Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. IDEX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IEX. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on IDEX from $207.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on IDEX from $208.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on IDEX from $238.00 to $204.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on IDEX from $224.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $215.00 target price on IDEX in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.63.

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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