Boston Research & Management Inc. Has $7.56 Million Stock Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Boston Research & Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 65,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 544 shares during the quarter. Xylem accounts for about 1.9% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $7,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in XYL. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Xylem by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 18,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,484,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Xylem by 12.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Xylem in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,593,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Xylem during the 3rd quarter worth $131,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Xylem in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.89.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XYL opened at $119.42 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $125.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.85. Xylem Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.26 and a 1-year high of $146.08. The firm has a market cap of $29.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. 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 (NYSE:XYL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.06. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Xylem’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is an increase from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.