Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 11,314,441 Shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS - Free Report) by 84.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,157,163 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,314,441 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 1.27% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions worth $80,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 184.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,556,599 shares of the company's stock worth $132,661,000 after buying an additional 2,304,285 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $80,457,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,412,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,880,302 shares of the company's stock worth $219,335,000 after buying an additional 1,242,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,619,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,161,000 after buying an additional 868,748 shares in the last quarter. 83.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions news, CFO David J. Pauli sold 8,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.47, for a total transaction of $297,593.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 59,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,107,272.70. This represents a 12.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Aimee Katz sold 8,912,500 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.60, for a total value of $299,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,002,819 shares in the company, valued at $504,094,718.40. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of ZWS traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $32.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,845,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,873. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $27.74 and a 12 month high of $41.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.26. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 35.45, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.08.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The business had revenue of $388.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.87 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ZWS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $39.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.71.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

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.