KBC Group NV Decreases Stock Holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 675,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 74,928 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Xylem were worth $78,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Xylem by 22.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,991,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $403,953,000 after buying an additional 554,609 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Xylem during the 3rd quarter worth $68,593,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Xylem during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,169,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xylem by 17.8% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,657,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $223,851,000 after purchasing an additional 249,975 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Xylem by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,329,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,394,792,000 after purchasing an additional 189,820 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xylem Stock Performance

NYSE XYL opened at $121.53 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.06. Xylem Inc. has a 1-year low of $111.72 and a 1-year high of $146.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $120.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.32.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 9.85% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Xylem Inc. will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Xylem’s payout ratio is presently 42.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on XYL shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Xylem from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Xylem from $148.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Xylem from $175.00 to $154.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xylem currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.50.

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.