Martin Currie Ltd. Acquires 3,927 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Martin Currie Ltd. grew its position in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 54.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,120 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 3,927 shares during the period. Martin Currie Ltd.'s holdings in Xylem were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Portland Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC now owns 44,979 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,218,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Xylem by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 28,661 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,333,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in shares of Xylem in the fourth quarter worth $1,910,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Xylem during the fourth quarter worth about $836,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Xylem by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 105,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,237,000 after acquiring an additional 15,728 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company's stock.

Xylem Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of XYL stock traded down $5.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $113.48. 1,137,556 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,321,948. Xylem Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.00 and a 12 month high of $146.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company's 50-day moving average price is $125.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.65. The company has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08.

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Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.06. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Xylem's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Xylem's payout ratio is presently 43.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XYL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Xylem from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research reiterated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on 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 increased their target price on shares of Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.89.

Xylem Company Profile

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.