Wesleyan Assurance Society Buys Shares of 3,125 Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Wesleyan Assurance Society acquired a new position in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYL. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in Xylem by 231.5% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,561,661 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $644,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883,845 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Xylem during the fourth quarter worth approximately $302,734,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Xylem by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,268,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $379,204,000 after acquiring an additional 966,399 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Xylem during the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,658,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Xylem by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,326,024 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $269,865,000 after acquiring an additional 698,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company's stock.

Xylem Stock Performance

NYSE:XYL traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $124.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,282,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,418,083. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.50. Xylem Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.47 and a 12-month high of $144.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $30.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.10.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. Xylem had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Xylem's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Xylem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XYL. Raymond James upgraded shares of Xylem to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Xylem from $152.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Xylem from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Xylem from $149.00 to $146.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Xylem from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.88.

Xylem Company Profile

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.