Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 1,947 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,576 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC's holdings in Xylem were worth $5,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Xylem by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,991,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $403,953,000 after acquiring an additional 554,609 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Xylem in the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Xylem by 1.5% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 182,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $24,628,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Xylem by 0.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,070 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Xylem by 0.8% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 368,047 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xylem Stock Performance

XYL stock traded up $2.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $129.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,520,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197,541. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.10. Xylem Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.26 and a fifty-two week high of $146.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.52 billion, a PE ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Xylem's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from Xylem's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Xylem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XYL. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Xylem from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup downgraded Xylem from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.90.

Xylem 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.