Allianz Asset Management GmbH Purchases 148,759 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 740,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 148,759 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Xylem were worth $85,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Xylem by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,329,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,394,792,000 after purchasing an additional 189,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Xylem by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,668,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $762,804,000 after buying an additional 54,877 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Xylem by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,683,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $427,325,000 after buying an additional 691,618 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Xylem by 1.0% during 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 worth $465,760,000 after buying an additional 32,645 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in Xylem by 1.0% in the third 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. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xylem Stock Performance

NYSE XYL opened at $127.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.93 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.76. Xylem Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.26 and a 52-week high of $146.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.19.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.06. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on XYL. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Xylem from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup downgraded Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.90.

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.