HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Acquires 4,480 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 101.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,480 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Xylem were worth $1,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Xylem by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,698,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $197,091,000 after buying an additional 101,111 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in shares of Xylem by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 389,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,166,000 after acquiring an additional 2,936 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $675,000. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in Xylem by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 2,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martin Currie Ltd. grew its holdings in Xylem by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Martin Currie Ltd. now owns 11,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on XYL. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.89.

Xylem Stock Performance

Xylem stock opened at $119.74 on Wednesday. Xylem Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.26 and a 1-year high of $146.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.10 billion, a PE ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.69.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.06. Xylem had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Xylem’s payout ratio is presently 43.72%.

About Xylem

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.