Sycomore Asset Management Acquires 7,914 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Sycomore Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 68.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,914 shares during the period. Sycomore Asset Management’s holdings in Xylem were worth $2,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Xylem Price Performance

NYSE XYL traded down $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $130.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,053,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,156,746. Xylem Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.59 and a 52-week high of $132.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.76. The company has a market capitalization of $31.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $127.30 and a 200-day moving average of $113.22.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,682.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,682.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total transaction of $293,270.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,431,032.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on XYL. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Xylem from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. BNP Paribas began 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Xylem from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xylem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.