Xylem Inc. $XYL Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Key Points

• Welch & Forbes cut its Xylem stake by 3.0% in the third quarter, selling 11,756 shares and retaining 384,211 shares valued at about $38.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own nearly 88% of the stock.
• Xylem reported quarterly EPS of $1.44, slightly below the $1.45 consensus, while revenue of $2.20 billion missed estimates of $2.28 billion and fell 3% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with an average price target of $121.31. Xylem’s quarterly dividend was $0.43 per share, equivalent to a 1.7% annualized yield.

Welch & Forbes LLC cut its stake in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 384,211 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,756 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC owned 0.17% of Xylem worth $38,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Xylem by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,444,669 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,352,874,000 after buying an additional 270,972 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 129,946 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,160,000 after acquiring an additional 11,993 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in Xylem by 3.6% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 274,578 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,807,000 after acquiring an additional 9,650 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in Xylem by 1,922.6% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 46,034 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,400,000 after acquiring an additional 43,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XXEC Inc. purchased a new position in Xylem in the second quarter worth $850,841,000. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xylem Stock Performance

Shares of XYL stock opened at $99.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.01. Xylem Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.40 and a fifty-two week high of $152.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $103.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.27.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($0.01). Xylem had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 11.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Xylem's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on XYL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $123.00 price target on Xylem in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Xylem from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Xylem from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Xylem from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Xylem in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.31.

Insider Transactions at Xylem

In other news, Director D Koch purchased 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $89.60 per share, with a total value of $985,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,097,331.20. The trade was a 882.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc is a water technology company that develops equipment, software and services for managing water and wastewater. Its offerings include pumps and treatment systems, water-quality testing and analysis, smart meters, monitoring and control technologies, and services for detecting leaks and maintaining water infrastructure.

The company serves water and wastewater utilities, industrial and commercial customers, and residential markets. Its technologies support the movement, treatment, testing and efficient use of water across municipal and industrial systems.

Xylem was established in 2011 when it became an independent company following its spin-off from ITT Corporation.

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