Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Stock Position in Xylem Inc. $XYL

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management trimmed its Xylem stake by 7.5% in Q4, selling 397,631 shares and now holds 4,886,252 shares (about 2.01% of Xylem) valued at roughly $665.44 million, making XYL its 27th largest position.
• Xylem raised its quarterly dividend to $0.43 (annualized $1.72, yield 1.4%) and authorized a $1.5 billion share buyback program to repurchase up to 4.8% of outstanding shares, signaling management confidence.
• Wall Street’s consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $153.77, though several analysts have recently trimmed price targets while keeping Buy/Outperform ratings.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,886,252 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 397,631 shares during the quarter. Xylem makes up approximately 0.6% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 2.01% of Xylem worth $665,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Xylem by 1,844.4% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Xylem during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in Xylem during the third quarter valued at $27,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Xylem in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xylem by 100.0% during the third quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XYL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $158.00 price target on shares of Xylem in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Xylem from $166.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Xylem from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Xylem from $176.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Xylem from $182.00 to $174.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $153.77.

Xylem Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE XYL opened at $121.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.47. Xylem Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.49 and a 1 year high of $154.27.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42. Xylem had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 10.59%.The firm's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Xylem has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.350-5.560 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Xylem's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Xylem's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.88%.

Xylem announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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