Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 25,854 Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 283,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 25,854 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $32,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XYL. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in Xylem by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 2,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Martin Currie Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Xylem by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Martin Currie Ltd. now owns 11,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after buying an additional 3,927 shares during the last quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Xylem by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC now owns 44,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,218,000 after buying an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 28,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,333,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz SE purchased a new position in Xylem in the fourth quarter worth $1,910,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Xylem Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of Xylem stock opened at $104.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.76. Xylem Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.24 and a 52-week high of $146.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on XYL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.89.

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.