Bailard Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Bailard Inc. increased its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 302 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $2,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Patten Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xylem by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 31,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,558,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Xylem by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Xylem by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 3,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Xylem by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 15,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garrison Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xylem by 0.5% during the third quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 21,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XYL. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Xylem in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James upgraded Xylem from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Xylem from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Xylem from $126.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Xylem from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xylem currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.11.

Xylem Stock Performance

NYSE XYL traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $131.71. The company had a trading volume of 198,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,141,776. Xylem Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.59 and a fifty-two week high of $132.23. The stock has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its quarterly 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. Xylem had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Xylem Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is an increase from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is 52.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total transaction of $122,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,682.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Xylem news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,431,032.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,935 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

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.