Ecofi Investissements SA Purchases 14,250 Shares of IDEX Corporation $IEX

Ecofi Investissements SA lifted its position in IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,250 shares during the quarter. IDEX accounts for approximately 9.6% of Ecofi Investissements SA’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Ecofi Investissements SA owned approximately 0.07% of IDEX worth $9,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IEX. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in IDEX by 257.5% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of IDEX in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of IDEX in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Steph & Co. bought a new stake in IDEX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in IDEX during the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. 97.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

IDEX Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE IEX opened at $177.34 on Friday. IDEX Corporation has a 1 year low of $153.36 and a 1 year high of $231.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $168.08 and its 200-day moving average is $170.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.01.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter. IDEX had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business had revenue of $712.00 million during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that IDEX Corporation will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

IDEX declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

IDEX Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. IDEX’s payout ratio is 44.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on IEX. Oppenheimer set a $210.00 price objective on IDEX in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of IDEX in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of IDEX from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of IDEX from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of IDEX in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, IDEX currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.86.

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.