Ameriprise Financial Inc. Grows Stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor $ZWS

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 74.1%, owning 1,715,496 shares valued at approximately $56.6 million.
• Analysts offer mixed ratings for Zurn Elkay, with a recent price target raised to $50.00 by Stifel Nicolaus, while the average price target stands at $38.00.
• Insider sales included a significant transaction where Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 20,000 shares for about $874,600, indicating a 10% decrease in his ownership.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Free Report) by 74.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,715,496 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 729,920 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 1.02% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor worth $56,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 3,687.2% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,780 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the first quarter worth about $99,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 31.0% during the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ZWS shares. Mizuho set a $36.00 price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $874,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 180,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,871,400. This trade represents a 10.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sudhanshu Chhabra sold 108,930 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.61, for a total transaction of $4,750,437.30. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 94,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,731.30. The trade was a 53.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,930 shares of company stock valued at $6,501,529 over the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ZWS opened at $46.56 on Thursday. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a twelve month low of $27.74 and a twelve month high of $46.60. The firm has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of 46.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $444.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.55 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. Analysts expect that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor's payout ratio is 35.64%.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor 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.

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