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

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $1,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Xylem in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Xylem by 370.9% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Xylem during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on XYL shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Xylem from $126.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Xylem from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BNP Paribas began coverage on Xylem in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Xylem from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Xylem from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xylem

In other news, SVP Rodney Aulick sold 21,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $3,030,418.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,604,655.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Rodney Aulick sold 21,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $3,030,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,604,655.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 2,278 shares of Xylem stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.63, for a total transaction of $315,799.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,195.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XYL opened at $132.71 on Friday. Xylem Inc. has a one year low of $87.59 and a one year high of $146.08. The stock has a market cap of $32.18 billion, a PE ratio of 47.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $138.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Xylem Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. Xylem’s payout ratio is currently 51.25%.

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.