California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 425,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,749 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.18% of Xylem worth $48,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Xylem by 122.0% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after buying an additional 10,646 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Xylem by 13.0% during the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Xylem by 13.4% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Xylem by 48.6% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,832,000 after buying an additional 13,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Xylem by 18.8% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 658,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,953,000 after buying an additional 104,455 shares during the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xylem news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total value of $293,270.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,431,032.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Xylem news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total value of $122,890.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,682.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total value of $293,270.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,431,032.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on XYL shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Xylem from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Xylem from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Xylem in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Xylem from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.11.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XYL opened at $130.61 on Friday. Xylem Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.59 and a twelve month high of $132.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $127.44 and its 200 day moving average is $113.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $31.66 billion, a PE ratio of 48.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. Xylem had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Xylem’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Xylem Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.94%.

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.