Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 413,904 Shares of Xylem Inc. $XYL

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply increased its Xylem stake in the fourth quarter, buying 413,904 shares and lifting its holdings to 431,824 shares worth about $54.3 million.
• Xylem reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.12 on revenue of $2.13 billion, and also raised its FY2026 guidance to $5.35-$5.60 EPS.
• The company continues to return capital to shareholders through a $1.5 billion share buyback authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, with analysts maintaining a Moderate Buy consensus target of $152.77.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 2,309.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,824 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 413,904 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.18% of Xylem worth $54,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in XYL. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xylem in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Xylem in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Xylem in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 4,269 shares of Xylem stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total transaction of $501,436.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $423,443.30. This trade represents a 54.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jerome A. Peribere bought 1,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $116.61 per share, with a total value of $141,098.10. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,172,841.49. This represents a 4.65% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Xylem Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Xylem stock opened at $108.17 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.54. Xylem Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.04 and a 1 year high of $154.27. The company has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

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

Xylem announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Xylem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on XYL. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Xylem from $176.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Xylem from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup cut their price target on Xylem from $174.00 to $168.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $161.00 price target on Xylem in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Xylem from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.77.

About Xylem

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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