Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 890,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 248,427 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.37% of Xylem worth $101,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XYL. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Xylem by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,528,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $412,267,000 after acquiring an additional 466,911 shares in 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 in 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 during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in Xylem by 2.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Xylem by 4.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,617,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $238,266,000 after buying an additional 100,728 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on XYL shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Xylem in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Xylem from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Xylem from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Xylem from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.11.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of Xylem stock traded up $4.35 on Thursday, hitting $135.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,606,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,248. The company has a market capitalization of $32.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $128.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.74. 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 1 year low of $87.59 and a 1 year high of $137.18.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xylem Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. This is an increase from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.94%.

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.