Vontobel Holding Ltd. Increases Position in Xylem Inc. $XYL

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 814,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,051 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $110,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Xylem during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Xylem in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xylem Stock Up 0.8%

Xylem stock opened at $109.92 on Friday. Xylem Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.29 and a twelve month high of $154.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.04.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Xylem had a return on equity of 11.26% and a net margin of 10.79%.The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Xylem has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.350-5.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is 42.79%.

Insider Activity

In other Xylem news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 4,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total transaction of $501,436.74. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,443.30. This trade represents a 54.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jerome A. Peribere acquired 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $116.61 per share, for a total transaction of $141,098.10. Following the acquisition, the director owned 27,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,172,841.49. The trade was a 4.65% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Xylem from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Xylem in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Xylem from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Xylem in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Xylem from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xylem presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.77.

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.