Martin Currie Ltd. Increases Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Martin Currie Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 54.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,927 shares during the period. Martin Currie Ltd.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Portland Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Xylem by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC now owns 44,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,218,000 after buying an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Xylem by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 28,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,333,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Allianz SE purchased a new position in Xylem during the fourth quarter valued at $1,910,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Xylem during the fourth quarter valued at $836,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Xylem by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 105,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,237,000 after purchasing an additional 15,728 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xylem Price Performance

NYSE:XYL opened at $119.42 on Friday. Xylem Inc. has a one year low of $113.26 and a one year high of $146.08. The stock has a market cap of $29.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $125.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.88.

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 company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. 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 1.34%. Xylem’s payout ratio is 43.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XYL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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.com, Xylem currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.89.

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.