Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 2.4% in Q1, retaining 93,813 shares valued at approximately $11.2 million.
• Analysts have increased their target price for Xylem, with Citigroup setting it at $152.00 and Stifel Nicolaus raising it to $175.00, reflecting strong support for the stock.
• Xylem recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, yielding 1.1%, to be distributed to shareholders on September 25th.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,813 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,285 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Xylem were worth $11,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of XYL. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Xylem by 42.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,268,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $379,204,000 after purchasing an additional 966,399 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xylem in the 1st quarter worth about $99,726,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Xylem by 390.5% in the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 1,021,337 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $122,009,000 after purchasing an additional 813,100 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Xylem in the 1st quarter worth about $89,828,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter worth about $83,139,000. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on XYL. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $152.00 target price (up previously from $137.00) on shares of Xylem in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Xylem from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Xylem from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Xylem from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Xylem from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xylem currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.57.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XYL opened at $141.87 on Friday. Xylem Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.47 and a fifty-two week high of $145.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $132.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $34.53 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.11.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.11. Xylem had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 10.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Xylem's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Xylem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.56%.

About Xylem

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding XYL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.