Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in Xylem Inc. $XYL

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,787,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 10,314 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $243,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of XYL. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,645,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 97.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 11,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after buying an additional 5,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 114.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XYL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Xylem from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Xylem from $176.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Xylem from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Xylem from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Xylem from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.77.

Xylem Stock Performance

NYSE XYL opened at $110.84 on Wednesday. Xylem Inc. has a 1-year low of $105.29 and a 1-year high of $154.27. The company has a market capitalization of $26.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Xylem had a return on equity of 11.26% and a net margin of 10.79%.Xylem’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Xylem has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.350-5.600 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is 42.79%.

Xylem announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jerome A. Peribere bought 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $116.61 per share, for a total transaction of $141,098.10. Following the acquisition, the director owned 27,209 shares in the company, valued at $3,172,841.49. This represents a 4.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 4,269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total value of $501,436.74. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $423,443.30. This trade represents a 54.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc (NYSE: XYL) is a global water technology company that designs, manufactures and services engineered systems and equipment for the transport, treatment, testing and efficient use of water. Its product portfolio spans pumps and pumping systems, valves, filtration and disinfection equipment, sensors and analytical instruments, and digital solutions for monitoring and control of water infrastructure. Xylem serves the full water cycle with offerings for water and wastewater utilities, industrial customers, commercial and residential buildings, and agricultural applications.

The company was established as an independent publicly traded company in 2011 following a corporate spin-off from ITT Corporation and is headquartered in Rye Brook, New York.