Korea Investment CORP Reduces Stock Holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its stake in shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 34.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 116,971 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of Xylem worth $26,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Xylem by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,644,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,323,325,000 after buying an additional 303,854 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Xylem by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,329,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,394,792,000 after acquiring an additional 189,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Xylem by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,668,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $762,804,000 after purchasing an additional 54,877 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in Xylem by 231.5% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,561,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $644,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883,845 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in Xylem by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,683,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $427,325,000 after purchasing an additional 691,618 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on XYL. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup downgraded Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.89.

Xylem Stock Performance

Shares of XYL opened at $119.42 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $113.26 and a 52-week high of $146.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.91. The company has a market capitalization of $29.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is an increase from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Xylem’s payout ratio is presently 43.72%.

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.