Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Lowers Stock Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC cut its holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,824 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 411 shares during the quarter. Xylem makes up about 1.1% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Xylem were worth $6,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Xylem during the first quarter valued at $6,746,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Xylem by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,048,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,207,683,000 after purchasing an additional 187,847 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Xylem by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 338,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,737,000 after purchasing an additional 38,603 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Xylem by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 393,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,902,000 after purchasing an additional 5,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Xylem by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 379,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,362,000 after purchasing an additional 27,718 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on XYL. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Xylem from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group assumed coverage on Xylem in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Xylem from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Xylem in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Xylem from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.67.

Xylem Stock Performance

XYL opened at $136.86 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $132.80 and its 200 day moving average is $134.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $33.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.70, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.04. Xylem Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.59 and a 12-month high of $146.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The company’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Xylem’s payout ratio is 51.25%.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions worldwide. It operates through four segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, Measurement & Control Solutions, and Integrated Solutions and Services. The Water Infrastructure segment offers products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment and rental services under the ADI, Flygt, Godwin, Sanitaire, Magneto, Neptune Benson, Ionpure, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brands.