First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 618,183 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,937 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.25% of Xylem worth $71,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Xylem during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xylem in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xylem in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Xylem by 69.5% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 317 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xylem by 122.4% in the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.96% of the company's stock.

Xylem Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:XYL traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $116.23. 1,923,112 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,404,520. Xylem Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.47 and a 12-month high of $146.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $118.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.35.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.06. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. Xylem's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Xylem's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Xylem's dividend payout ratio is 43.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on XYL. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Xylem from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Xylem from $152.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xylem has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.33.

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.