SFE Investment Counsel Boosts Holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

SFE Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 48.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,980 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Xylem were worth $1,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Xylem by 10,296.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 63,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,205,000 after purchasing an additional 62,398 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Xylem during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,752,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in Xylem by 6.6% during the third quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 39,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,574,000 after acquiring an additional 2,438 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Xylem by 351.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 101,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,597,000 after acquiring an additional 78,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its stake in Xylem by 10.3% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 75,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,831,000 after acquiring an additional 7,006 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on XYL shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Xylem in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Raymond James raised shares of Xylem from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Xylem from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Xylem from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Xylem from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xylem presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.11.

Insider Activity

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

Xylem Price Performance

NYSE:XYL traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $127.19. 592,392 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,139,670. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Xylem Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.59 and a 1 year high of $130.86. The company has a market cap of $30.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $126.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.01.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Xylem Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.94%.

About Xylem

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.