Bailard Inc. Grows Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Bailard Inc. lifted its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $2,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of XYL. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Xylem in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Xylem during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xylem in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 117.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Xylem by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xylem Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE XYL traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $131.71. The company had a trading volume of 198,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,141,776. The stock has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Xylem Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.59 and a 52 week high of $132.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $127.44 and its 200-day moving average is $113.34.

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

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.36 dividend. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on XYL. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Xylem from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James raised Xylem from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Xylem from $126.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xylem presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.11.

Insider Transactions at Xylem

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

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.