KBC Group NV Decreases Stock Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

KBC Group NV decreased its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 675,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 74,928 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.28% of Xylem worth $78,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XYL. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Xylem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,395,000. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Xylem by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Xylem by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 10,502 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Xylem by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XYL opened at $121.53 on Monday. Xylem Inc. has a one year low of $111.72 and a one year high of $146.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $120.88 and a 200 day moving average of $128.32. The firm has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.06.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.11. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. Xylem’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on XYL. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Xylem from $163.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Xylem from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Xylem from $148.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Xylem from $175.00 to $154.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.50.

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.