Fred Alger Management LLC Takes Position in IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX)

Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IEX. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of IDEX by 73.8% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in IDEX during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in IDEX during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of IDEX by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of IDEX by 100.0% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 97.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IDEX Price Performance

NYSE IEX opened at $230.63 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $217.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.15. IDEX Co. has a fifty-two week low of $189.51 and a fifty-two week high of $246.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.01. IDEX had a return on equity of 15.92% and a net margin of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $798.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $793.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that IDEX Co. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IDEX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. IDEX’s payout ratio is presently 42.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of IDEX from $245.00 to $241.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of IDEX from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on IDEX from $236.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on IDEX from $245.00 to $238.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on IDEX from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IDEX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.14.

IDEX 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.