Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) Shares Sold by Essex Investment Management Co. LLC

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lessened its stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 53.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26,003 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Xylem were worth $2,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYL. State Street Corp increased its stake in Xylem by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,329,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,394,792,000 after purchasing an additional 189,820 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,668,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $762,804,000 after buying an additional 54,877 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in shares of Xylem by 231.5% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,561,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $644,039,000 after buying an additional 3,883,845 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Xylem by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,683,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $427,325,000 after acquiring an additional 691,618 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Xylem by 1.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,449,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $465,760,000 after acquiring an additional 32,645 shares during the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on XYL shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered shares of Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.90.

Xylem Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE XYL opened at $130.79 on Monday. Xylem Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.26 and a twelve month high of $146.08. The stock has a market cap of $31.79 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.06. Xylem had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.72%.

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.