Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 133,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 29,831 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $15,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Xylem by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 26,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,125,000 after buying an additional 5,286 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,152,000 after buying an additional 6,386 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,683,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $427,325,000 after purchasing an additional 691,618 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in Xylem by 89.6% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 16,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 7,723 shares during the period. Finally, Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,094,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Xylem Stock Performance

Shares of XYL stock opened at $122.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $125.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. Xylem Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.26 and a 12 month high of $146.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.06. Xylem had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Xylem’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 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 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Xylem’s payout ratio is presently 43.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.