Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 26,310 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. reduced its stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26,310 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $7,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xylem by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xylem by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Xylem by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xylem by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.90.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XYL opened at $123.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $30.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $124.39 and its 200 day moving average is $126.86. Xylem Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.26 and a 52 week high of $146.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.