Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Lowers Stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its position in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,734 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Xylem were worth $2,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 22.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,991,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $403,953,000 after acquiring an additional 554,609 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xylem in the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 1.5% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 182,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,628,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 0.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 0.8% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 368,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,697,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on XYL. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Xylem from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup cut shares of Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Xylem from $163.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xylem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.90.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of XYL stock opened at $130.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a PE ratio of 35.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Xylem Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.26 and a twelve month high of $146.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is 43.72%.

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.