IDEX Corporation $IEX Stock Position Decreased by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) by 32.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,666 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in IDEX were worth $1,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IDEX by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in IDEX by 2.0% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 3,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of IDEX by 21.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in shares of IDEX by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 8,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. 97.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

IDEX Stock Performance

IEX opened at $180.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.62. IDEX Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $153.36 and a fifty-two week high of $226.04.

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

IDEX declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

IDEX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. IDEX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IEX shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of IDEX from $197.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of IDEX in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on IDEX from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Oppenheimer set a $210.00 target price on IDEX in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on IDEX from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.86.

About IDEX

IDEX Corporation is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in the design, production and distribution of highly engineered fluidics systems, measurement technologies and safety solutions. The company’s core offerings include positive-displacement pumps, flow meters, valves, sampling systems and analytical instruments that serve a wide range of end markets such as water treatment, chemical processing, energy, food and beverage, and life sciences. Through its focus on precision engineering and proprietary material science, IDEX delivers products designed for reliability in demanding applications.

Operations at IDEX are organized into three principal segments.