Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 29,831 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Xylem worth $15,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XYL. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Xylem by 231.5% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,561,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $644,039,000 after buying an additional 3,883,845 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter worth $96,658,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Xylem by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,326,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,865,000 after acquiring an additional 698,745 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Xylem by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,683,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $427,325,000 after purchasing an additional 691,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Xylem in the 3rd quarter valued at $68,593,000. Institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on XYL shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xylem presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.89.

Xylem Price Performance

NYSE:XYL opened at $122.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. Xylem Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.26 and a 12 month high of $146.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.72%.

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.