Vestcor Inc Decreases Stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Vestcor Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,021 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Xylem were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Xylem in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xylem during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Xylem by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xylem by 3,887.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on XYL shares. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup cut shares of Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xylem currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.89.

Xylem Price Performance

XYL stock opened at $123.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $124.86 and a 200-day moving average of $126.48. The company has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Xylem Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.26 and a 12-month high of $146.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.