First Financial Bank Trust Division Invests $2.60 Million in Xylem Inc. $XYL

First Financial Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,604,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Xylem by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,902,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,410,580,000 after acquiring an additional 204,407 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Xylem by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,615,598,000 after acquiring an additional 133,173 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Xylem by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 5,714,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $730,717,000 after acquiring an additional 830,337 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Xylem by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,197,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $766,669,000 after purchasing an additional 830,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Xylem by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,056,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $524,694,000 after purchasing an additional 166,959 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on XYL. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Xylem from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Xylem from $166.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Xylem in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $161.00 target price on shares of Xylem in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.08.

Xylem Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE XYL opened at $119.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $29.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.17. Xylem Inc. has a one year low of $100.47 and a one year high of $154.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $132.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.40.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.42. Xylem had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 11.11%. Xylem’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Xylem has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.350-5.560 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Xylem’s payout ratio is presently 43.88%.

Xylem declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc (NYSE: XYL) is a global water technology company that designs, manufactures and services engineered systems and equipment for the transport, treatment, testing and efficient use of water. Its product portfolio spans pumps and pumping systems, valves, filtration and disinfection equipment, sensors and analytical instruments, and digital solutions for monitoring and control of water infrastructure. Xylem serves the full water cycle with offerings for water and wastewater utilities, industrial customers, commercial and residential buildings, and agricultural applications.

The company was established as an independent publicly traded company in 2011 following a corporate spin-off from ITT Corporation and is headquartered in Rye Brook, New York.