Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) by 49.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,619,953 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 868,748 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions were worth $94,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZWS. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 76.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 178.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 732.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.33% of the company’s stock.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of ZWS opened at $37.48 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.14. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $27.55 and a twelve month high of $41.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.44, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.14.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $410.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.15 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 8.87%. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is a boost from Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s payout ratio is 45.57%.

Insider Activity at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

In related news, CEO Todd A. Adams sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.83, for a total value of $4,779,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,242,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,333,392.61. This represents a 5.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 20,000 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total value of $751,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 345,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,969,189.03. This trade represents a 5.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 147,202 shares of company stock valued at $5,813,358. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ZWS. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho raised their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.50.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Company Profile

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.