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

SFE Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,010 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Xylem were worth $3,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XYL. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Xylem by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,329,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,394,792,000 after purchasing an additional 189,820 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Xylem by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,668,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $762,804,000 after buying an additional 54,877 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,683,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $427,325,000 after buying an additional 691,618 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Xylem by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,449,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $465,760,000 after buying an additional 32,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in Xylem by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,677,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $226,555,000 after acquiring an additional 15,825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Xylem Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Xylem stock opened at $129.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $31.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.07. Xylem Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.26 and a 52-week high of $146.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.31.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Xylem Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Xylem’s payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Xylem from $163.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Xylem from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.90.

Xylem 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.