Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xylem were worth $518,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Xylem in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,752,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Xylem by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 39,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,574,000 after acquiring an additional 2,438 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Xylem by 351.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 101,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,597,000 after acquiring an additional 78,934 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Xylem by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 75,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,831,000 after acquiring an additional 7,006 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Xylem by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 156,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,275,000 after acquiring an additional 4,621 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Xylem Stock Performance

Xylem stock opened at $128.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $125.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.71. Xylem Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.59 and a fifty-two week high of $130.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. Xylem had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Xylem’s payout ratio is presently 52.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on XYL shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Xylem from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Xylem in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Xylem from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Xylem in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $127.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total transaction of $293,270.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,431,032.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total transaction of $293,270.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,431,032.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total transaction of $122,890.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,682.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.