LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Buys Shares of 9,230 Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 11.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,528,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $412,267,000 after buying an additional 466,911 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 35.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,182,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $380,762,000 after buying an additional 1,086,102 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 10.6% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,408,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $310,249,000 after buying an additional 327,383 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,066,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $350,701,000 after buying an additional 69,619 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 worth $238,266,000 after buying an additional 100,728 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XYL traded up $4.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $135.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,043,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,162,412. The company has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.15, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.08. Xylem Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.59 and a 52 week high of $137.18. The business’s 50-day moving average is $128.19 and its 200 day moving average is $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 (NYSE:XYL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. Xylem had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XYL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Xylem from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Xylem in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Xylem from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on Xylem from $126.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Xylem from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xylem presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xylem

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