Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $68.78 Million Stock Holdings in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 601,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,585 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Xylem were worth $68,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XYL. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Xylem by 399.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,951,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360,214 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Xylem by 145.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,731,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $412,561,000 after buying an additional 2,211,083 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Xylem during the 4th quarter worth about $197,762,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Xylem by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,390,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,738,529,000 after buying an additional 1,435,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Xylem by 53.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,828,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,390,000 after buying an additional 1,335,241 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xylem Price Performance

XYL stock opened at $126.22 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $126.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.01. The company has a market capitalization of $30.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.40, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.10. Xylem Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.59 and a 52-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 results on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xylem Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is 52.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on XYL. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Xylem in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Xylem from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James raised shares of Xylem from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Xylem from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.44.

Insider Transactions at Xylem

In other news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total transaction of $293,270.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,431,032.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total transaction of $293,270.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,431,032.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 2,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,682.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Xylem

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.