Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 146,597 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Free Report) by 32.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 310,444 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 146,597 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.13% of Xylem worth $36,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XYL. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Xylem during the third quarter valued at $2,492,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 47,642 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,433,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Xylem by 11.7% in the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 18,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xylem by 2.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,597,657 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $219,262,000 after purchasing an additional 36,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Xylem during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,092,000. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xylem Price Performance

XYL stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $116.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,923,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,404,520. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Xylem Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.47 and a 12 month high of $146.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $118.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 9.96%. Xylem's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Xylem's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Xylem's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Xylem from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Xylem from $152.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.33.

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.