Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $5.30 Million Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Xylem by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Xylem by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 3,757 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Xylem by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 110,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,801,000 after purchasing an additional 46,341 shares during the last quarter. Elefante Mark B bought a new stake in Xylem in the 4th quarter valued at $2,450,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Xylem by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 95,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,060,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XYL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Xylem from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Xylem from $149.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Xylem from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Xylem from $152.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.88.

Xylem Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of XYL opened at $126.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Xylem Inc. has a one year low of $100.47 and a one year high of $146.08. The company has a market cap of $30.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.10.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Xylem’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

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

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.