Xylem Inc. $XYL Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Xylem stake by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 157,871 shares and leaving it with 1,871,401 shares valued at about $254.8 million.
• Xylem posted better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $1.12 per share on $2.13 billion in revenue, both slightly above analyst estimates, with revenue up 2.7% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share and a $1.5 billion stock buyback program, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target price of $152.77.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,871,401 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 157,871 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.77% of Xylem worth $254,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Glenview Trust Co boosted its holdings in Xylem by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 2,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Xylem by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Xylem by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 12,465 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Xylem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,000. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new position in Xylem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Xylem from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Xylem from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $161.00 price target on Xylem in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Xylem in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.77.

Xylem Price Performance

XYL stock opened at $110.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. Xylem Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.29 and a twelve month high of $154.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Xylem Dividend Announcement

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

Xylem declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xylem

In other Xylem news, Director Jerome A. Peribere acquired 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,172,841.49. The trade was a 4.65% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 4,269 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $423,443.30. The trade was a 54.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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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