IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX) Stake Reduced by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP cut its stake in shares of IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 356,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 34,982 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned approximately 0.47% of IDEX worth $76,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IDEX during the third quarter worth about $173,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in IDEX by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in IDEX by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,223,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $262,479,000 after purchasing an additional 273,460 shares during the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of IDEX by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of IDEX by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 90,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $19,503,000 after buying an additional 17,662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.96% of the company's stock.

IDEX Stock Performance

NYSE:IEX traded up $5.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $232.50. 409,966 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 701,295. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $215.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.77. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $189.51 and a twelve month high of $246.36.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $798.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $793.05 million. IDEX had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 15.92%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that IDEX Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDEX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. IDEX's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IEX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus cut shares of IDEX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of IDEX from $236.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on IDEX from $245.00 to $238.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on IDEX from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on IDEX from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $241.14.

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.