Howard Capital Management Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC decreased its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 248 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Xylem were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Xylem by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Triodos Investment Management BV increased its stake in shares of Xylem by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 234,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,149,000 after buying an additional 26,300 shares during the period. Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of Xylem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,910,000. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Xylem in the fourth quarter worth $2,328,000. Finally, RPG Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Xylem by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 132,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,331,000 after acquiring an additional 24,297 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on XYL. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Xylem from $149.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Xylem from $152.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Xylem in a research report on Friday, May 30th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $148.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James raised Xylem to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Xylem from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.71.

Xylem Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:XYL opened at $125.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.76. Xylem Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.47 and a fifty-two week high of $143.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market cap of $30.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.13.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.01%.

Xylem Company 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.