Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) Stake Increased by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) by 180.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,777 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,428 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions were worth $663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZWS. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,441,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,585,000 after buying an additional 2,119,777 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 18,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. 83.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZWS opened at $28.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.72. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.15.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.04. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 10.23%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Aimee Katz sold 8,912,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.60, for a total transaction of $299,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,002,819 shares in the company, valued at $504,094,718.40. The trade was a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO David J. Pauli sold 8,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.47, for a total transaction of $297,593.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 59,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,107,272.70. The trade was a 12.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Profile

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.