Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL – Get Rating) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,198 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $24,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Xylem by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,814,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,818,395,000 after purchasing an additional 209,454 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Xylem by 1.4% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,680,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,631,902,000 after purchasing an additional 262,913 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Xylem by 53.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,828,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,241 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in Xylem by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,148,253 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $348,102,000 after purchasing an additional 183,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Xylem by 399.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,951,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360,214 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.57% of the company’s stock.

Xylem Stock Up 0.5 %

Xylem stock opened at $104.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.21, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. Xylem Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.08 and a fifty-two week high of $118.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Xylem had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 6.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 30th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 26th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.39%.

Insider Activity at Xylem

In related news, SVP Hayati Yarkadas sold 15,942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.43, for a total value of $1,601,055.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,219,822.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Xylem news, CEO Patrick Decker sold 56,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.19, for a total transaction of $5,527,900.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 287,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,235,909.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Hayati Yarkadas sold 15,942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.43, for a total value of $1,601,055.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,219,822.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XYL. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Xylem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $115.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Xylem from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Cowen raised their target price on Xylem from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Xylem in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Xylem in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.80.

Xylem Company Profile

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Xylem, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and application of engineered technologies for the water industry. It operates through the following business segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, and Measurement and Control Solutions. The Water Infrastructure segment focuses on the transportation, treatment and testing of water.