Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 453,978 Shares of Xylem Inc. $XYL

Key Points

• Artisan Partners cut its Xylem stake by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 453,978 shares and ending with 3.21 million shares valued at about $437.7 million.
• Xylem reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.12 versus $1.09 expected and revenue of $2.13 billion, while also guiding FY 2026 EPS to 5.35-5.60.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share and a $1.5 billion share repurchase plan; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $152.77.

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership reduced its stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,214,458 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 453,978 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 1.32% of Xylem worth $437,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xylem during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Xylem during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xylem during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Xylem by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Xylem during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xylem Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of XYL stock opened at $112.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.39 and a 200-day moving average of $126.83. Xylem Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.29 and a 12-month high of $154.27. The company has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.03. Xylem had a return on equity of 11.26% and a net margin of 10.79%.The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Xylem has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.350-5.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Xylem's payout ratio is presently 42.79%.

Xylem announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on XYL shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $130.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Xylem in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Xylem from $174.00 to $168.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Xylem from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Xylem from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Xylem from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xylem currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.77.

Insider Activity at Xylem

In other Xylem news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 4,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 54.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jerome A. Peribere bought 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $116.61 per share, for a total transaction of $141,098.10. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 27,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,172,841.49. This represents a 4.65% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Xylem Profile

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.

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