ING Groep NV Cuts Stock Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

ING Groep NV cut its stake in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 70.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 73,456 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Xylem were worth $3,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XYL. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xylem during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Xylem by 122.4% in the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Xylem by 3,887.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Xylem by 318.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 226.0% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XYL. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Xylem from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup cut Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Xylem from $163.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.90.

Xylem Stock Performance

Shares of XYL opened at $127.32 on Friday. Xylem Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.26 and a 52-week high of $146.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $30.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $121.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.19.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.06. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.72%.

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.