Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 93,989 Shares of IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX)

Key Points

• The Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in IDEX Corporation by 1.0%, now holding 9,212,019 shares valued at approximately $1.67 billion.
• IDEX reported strong earnings for the quarter, with an EPS of $2.07, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.00 and a revenue increase of 7.2% year-over-year.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.71 represents an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 45.88%.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in shares of IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,212,019 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 93,989 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.19% of IDEX worth $1,667,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of IDEX by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,666,777 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $767,421,000 after purchasing an additional 277,964 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in IDEX by 11.5% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,006,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $363,157,000 after acquiring an additional 207,172 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in IDEX by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,868,919 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $391,147,000 after acquiring an additional 17,087 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in IDEX by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,194,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $249,922,000 after acquiring an additional 16,480 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in IDEX by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,056,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $221,152,000 after acquiring an additional 105,960 shares during the period. 97.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IDEX Price Performance

NYSE IEX traded up $5.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $163.30. 657,262 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 836,528. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $176.50 and a 200-day moving average of $182.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.04. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.07. IDEX had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business had revenue of $865.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $858.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. IDEX's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that IDEX Corporation will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IDEX Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors 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 1.7%. IDEX's payout ratio is 45.88%.

Insider Activity at IDEX

In related news, CFO Akhil Mahendra sold 250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.89, for a total value of $45,222.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,035 shares in the company, valued at $910,781.15. This represents a 4.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on IEX shares. DA Davidson set a $180.00 target price on shares of IDEX and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Mizuho set a $185.00 price objective on shares of IDEX in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $215.00 price objective on IDEX in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on IDEX from $224.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on IDEX from $238.00 to $204.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IDEX has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.71.

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.