Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 2,917 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,917 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xylem were worth $5,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xylem during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Xylem by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 4,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 95.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 223,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,881,000 after purchasing an additional 108,672 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Xylem by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Xylem by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XYL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Xylem from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Xylem from $152.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Xylem from $149.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Xylem from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.88.

Xylem Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:XYL opened at $126.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.76. Xylem Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.47 and a 52-week high of $146.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. Xylem had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.01%.

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.