Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Takes Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 43,910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,094,000. Xylem makes up approximately 2.1% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of XYL. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Xylem by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,329,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,394,792,000 after purchasing an additional 189,820 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Xylem by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,668,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $762,804,000 after acquiring an additional 54,877 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Xylem by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,449,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $465,760,000 after acquiring an additional 32,645 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in Xylem by 22.8% during 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. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in Xylem by 1.0% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,677,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $226,555,000 after acquiring an additional 15,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Xylem Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of XYL stock opened at $115.64 on Tuesday. Xylem Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.39 and a 1-year high of $146.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.20. The firm has a market cap of $28.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.81, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 9.85% and a return on equity of 9.61%. Xylem’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xylem Inc. will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on XYL. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Xylem from $148.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Xylem from $175.00 to $154.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Xylem from $163.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Xylem from $172.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.10.

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.