First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 65.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,941 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XYL. AtonRa Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. AtonRa Partners now owns 4,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. raised its position in Xylem by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 31,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,558,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xylem by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 3,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Xylem by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 15,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on XYL shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Xylem from $126.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Xylem from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. BNP Paribas began coverage on Xylem in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Xylem from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Xylem from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total value of $293,270.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,431,032.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Xylem news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total transaction of $293,270.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,431,032.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total value of $122,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,682.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XYL opened at $137.21 on Friday. Xylem Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.59 and a 52 week high of $138.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $33.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $128.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.20.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.25%.

About Xylem

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.