Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor $ZWS Shares Purchased by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

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. boosted its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Free Report) by 74.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 about 1.02% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor worth $56,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,416,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. grew its holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 20.3% during the first quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 28,236 shares of the company's stock worth $931,000 after acquiring an additional 4,758 shares during the period. Humankind Investments LLC grew its holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 12.3% during the first quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 6,887 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 53.5% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 67,843 shares of the company's stock worth $2,221,000 after acquiring an additional 23,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the first quarter valued at $377,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Price Performance

NYSE:ZWS traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.12. 1,048,745 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 827,179. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $41.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.59. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a 1 year low of $27.74 and a 1 year high of $46.60. The company has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a PE ratio of 44.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.07.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $444.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Dividend Announcement

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