Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 394,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,237 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $46,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in XYL. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Xylem by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 26,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,125,000 after purchasing an additional 5,286 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Xylem by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,152,000 after buying an additional 6,386 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Xylem by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,683,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $427,325,000 after acquiring an additional 691,618 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Xylem by 89.6% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 16,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 7,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new position in Xylem in the fourth quarter valued at $5,094,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on XYL. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup downgraded Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xylem currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.89.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XYL opened at $119.42 on Friday. Xylem Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.26 and a 1-year high of $146.08. The company has a market cap of $29.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.88.

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

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.72%.

Xylem Profile

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.