Sapience Investments LLC Reduces Position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS)

Sapience Investments LLC trimmed its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,639 shares during the period. Sapience Investments LLC’s holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions were worth $2,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ZWS. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 77.4% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. 83.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Sudhanshu Chhabra sold 25,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.19, for a total value of $964,001.99. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 94,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,500,769.08. The trade was a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David J. Pauli sold 2,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.11, for a total transaction of $100,419.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,255,248.92. This represents a 4.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE ZWS opened at $37.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.91. The firm has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.88, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.02. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $27.74 and a 1 year high of $41.15. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.10.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $388.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ZWS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BNP Paribas cut Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.43.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.