IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) Shares Bought by Weitz Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in IDEX Corporation by 21.4%, acquiring an additional 70,725 shares, which now totals 401,225 shares valued at approximately $72.61 million, making IDEX its 6th largest position.
• IDEX Corporation reported earnings of $2.07 per share for the last quarter, surpassing forecasts, with revenue growth of 7.2% year-over-year to $865.4 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, providing an annualized yield of 1.8%, and has an established dividend payout ratio of 45.88%.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX - Free Report) by 21.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 401,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 70,725 shares during the quarter. IDEX accounts for approximately 3.9% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.53% of IDEX worth $72,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in IDEX by 8.2% in 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 last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new stake in IDEX during the 1st quarter worth about $49,815,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in IDEX by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,006,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $363,157,000 after purchasing an additional 207,172 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of IDEX in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,375,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in IDEX by 26,868.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 165,588 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $299,660,000 after purchasing an additional 164,974 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.96% of the company's stock.

IDEX Price Performance

IEX traded down $2.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $159.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 984,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 838,128. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.21. IDEX Corporation has a 1 year low of $153.36 and a 1 year high of $238.22. The company has a market cap of $12.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.04.

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

IDEX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. IDEX's payout ratio is 45.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IEX shares. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of IDEX from $224.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $180.00 price target on shares of IDEX and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho set a $185.00 price target on IDEX in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on IDEX from $208.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of IDEX from $207.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, IDEX presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Akhil Mahendra sold 250 shares of the firm'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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

About IDEX

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.