AtonRa Partners Grows Holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

AtonRa Partners raised its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the quarter. AtonRa Partners’ holdings in Xylem were worth $458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Xylem by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,182,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,102 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 66.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,159,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $196,598,000 after acquiring an additional 864,711 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xylem during the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,283,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Xylem in the 4th quarter worth about $74,297,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Xylem by 11.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,528,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $412,267,000 after buying an additional 466,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xylem

In other news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total transaction of $122,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,935 shares in the company, valued at $360,682.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total value of $293,270.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,431,032.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total value of $122,890.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,682.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Xylem Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of XYL stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $132.60. 1,277,842 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,155,322. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $127.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Xylem Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.59 and a 52-week high of $133.34. The stock has a market cap of $32.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.10.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. Xylem had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Xylem’s revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XYL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded Xylem from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Xylem from $126.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Xylem from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Xylem in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.11.

Xylem Company Profile

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.