Rathbones Group PLC Decreases Stock Position in Xylem Inc. $XYL

Rathbones Group PLC cut its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 359,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,808 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Xylem were worth $48,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xylem by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,054,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,855,000 after purchasing an additional 152,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Xylem by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,615,598,000 after acquiring an additional 133,173 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Xylem by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,507,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $750,075,000 after acquiring an additional 310,213 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Xylem by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,259,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $480,737,000 after acquiring an additional 51,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Xylem by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,029,272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $299,318,000 after acquiring an additional 220,246 shares during the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Xylem from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Xylem from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Xylem from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Xylem from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Xylem from $174.00 to $168.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xylem news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 4,269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total transaction of $501,436.74. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,443.30. This represents a 54.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jerome A. Peribere bought 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $116.61 per share, for a total transaction of $141,098.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,172,841.49. This trade represents a 4.65% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Xylem Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:XYL opened at $108.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. Xylem Inc. has a 1-year low of $105.29 and a 1-year high of $154.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $119.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 11.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Xylem has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.350-5.600 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Xylem Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is 42.79%.

Xylem announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc (NYSE: XYL) is a global water technology company that designs, manufactures and services engineered systems and equipment for the transport, treatment, testing and efficient use of water. Its product portfolio spans pumps and pumping systems, valves, filtration and disinfection equipment, sensors and analytical instruments, and digital solutions for monitoring and control of water infrastructure. Xylem serves the full water cycle with offerings for water and wastewater utilities, industrial customers, commercial and residential buildings, and agricultural applications.

The company was established as an independent publicly traded company in 2011 following a corporate spin-off from ITT Corporation and is headquartered in Rye Brook, New York.