Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Xylem Inc. $XYL

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 734,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,804 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xylem were worth $87,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XYL. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xylem during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Xylem in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Xylem during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Xylem during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Xylem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XYL. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xylem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Xylem from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Xylem from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Xylem from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Xylem from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.15.

Xylem Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE XYL opened at $120.20 on Tuesday. Xylem Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.29 and a 12 month high of $154.27. 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 stock has a market cap of $28.57 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $114.27 and its 200 day moving average is $122.55.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 11.26%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,605 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jerome A. Peribere bought 1,210 shares of Xylem stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $116.61 per share, for a total transaction of $141,098.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly 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. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Xylem Profile

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.