Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $1.67 Million Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 56.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 5,195 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Xylem were worth $1,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in XYL. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Xylem by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 26,798 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,125,000 after acquiring an additional 5,286 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 66.9% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,935 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,152,000 after purchasing an additional 6,386 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Xylem by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,683,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $427,325,000 after purchasing an additional 691,618 shares during the period. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. bought a new position in Xylem in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,094,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Xylem by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,597,657 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $219,262,000 after buying an additional 36,102 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of XYL traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $110.53. 2,154,926 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,385,591. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $26.90 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.09. Xylem Inc. has a one year low of $100.47 and a one year high of $146.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 10.40%. Xylem's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Xylem's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Xylem's dividend payout ratio is 43.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on XYL. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Xylem from $152.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Xylem from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three 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, Xylem presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.33.

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.