Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $23.20 Million in IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 110,842 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $23,198,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.15% of IDEX at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in IDEX by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in IDEX by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in IDEX by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,127 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group grew its holdings in IDEX by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 2,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in IDEX by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 10,234 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,142,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 97.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IDEX Stock Performance

IDEX stock traded down $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $180.79. 834,199 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 583,218. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $176.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.07. IDEX Co. has a one year low of $153.36 and a one year high of $238.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $814.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $807.25 million. IDEX had a return on equity of 16.08% and a net margin of 15.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that IDEX Co. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

IDEX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. This is a boost from IDEX's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. IDEX's payout ratio is presently 45.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $215.00 target price on IDEX in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho set a $185.00 target price on IDEX in a research report on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson cut their target price on IDEX from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on IDEX from $192.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on IDEX from $264.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IDEX presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.50.

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.