Fayez Sarofim & Co Purchases Shares of 2,964 Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Fayez Sarofim & Co acquired a new position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position 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 worth $3,125,000 after purchasing an additional 5,286 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Xylem by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,683,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $427,325,000 after buying an additional 691,618 shares in the last quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter worth about $5,094,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Xylem by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,597,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,262,000 after buying an additional 36,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Xylem by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Xylem from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Xylem from $152.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.33.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of XYL stock opened at $108.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $120.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.92. Xylem Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.47 and a 52-week high of $146.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is 43.72%.

Xylem 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.