PGGM Investments Sells 14,261 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

PGGM Investments trimmed its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 65.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,261 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Xylem were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Xylem by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,528,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $412,267,000 after buying an additional 466,911 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Xylem by 35.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,182,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,102 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Xylem by 10.6% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,408,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $310,249,000 after purchasing an additional 327,383 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in shares of Xylem by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,066,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $350,701,000 after purchasing an additional 69,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,617,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $238,266,000 after purchasing an additional 100,728 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on XYL. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Xylem from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Xylem from $126.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Xylem from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Xylem from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xylem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.11.

Xylem Stock Performance

XYL opened at $132.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.76. Xylem Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.59 and a 52-week high of $133.34. The firm has a market cap of $32.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $127.91 and its 200-day moving average is $114.34.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 8.27%. Xylem’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Xylem’s payout ratio is presently 52.94%.

Insider Activity at Xylem

In other Xylem news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total value of $293,270.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,431,032.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total value of $122,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,935 shares in the company, valued at $360,682.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total value of $293,270.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,431,032.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.