Boston Research & Management Inc. Sells 544 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Boston Research & Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 544 shares during the period. Xylem accounts for about 1.9% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $7,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on XYL. Citigroup downgraded Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.89.

Xylem Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of XYL opened at $119.42 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock 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. Xylem Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.26 and a 1 year high of $146.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Xylem’s payout ratio is currently 43.72%.

Xylem Company 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.