Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Lowers Stake in Xylem Inc. $XYL

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership decreased its position in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,668,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 62,784 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Xylem were worth $541,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in Xylem by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,499,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $709,183,000 after buying an additional 663,191 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xylem during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,148,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 19.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 56,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,292,000 after acquiring an additional 8,960 shares during the last quarter. XXEC Inc. boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 66.0% in the second quarter. XXEC Inc. now owns 33,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,359,000 after acquiring an additional 13,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its holdings in Xylem by 9.8% in the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 417,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,629,000 after purchasing an additional 37,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Xylem from $166.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer set a $165.00 target price on Xylem in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Xylem from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Xylem in a research report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.08.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of XYL stock opened at $131.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $32.10 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.17. Xylem Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.47 and a twelve month high of $154.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.42. Xylem had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 11.11%. Xylem’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Xylem has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.350-5.560 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.88%.

Xylem announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc (NYSE: XYL) is a global water technology company that designs, manufactures and services engineered systems and equipment for the transport, treatment, testing and efficient use of water. Its product portfolio spans pumps and pumping systems, valves, filtration and disinfection equipment, sensors and analytical instruments, and digital solutions for monitoring and control of water infrastructure. Xylem serves the full water cycle with offerings for water and wastewater utilities, industrial customers, commercial and residential buildings, and agricultural applications.

The company was established as an independent publicly traded company in 2011 following a corporate spin-off from ITT Corporation and is headquartered in Rye Brook, New York.