Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) by 19.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,369 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,778 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions were worth $511,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $39,532,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 217,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 59,278 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 3,236.0% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 506,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,889,000 after purchasing an additional 491,093 shares during the period. 83.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:ZWS opened at $34.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.48. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.07, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.14. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $25.09 and a 1-year high of $35.18.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 8.80%. The firm had revenue of $412.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $409.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

In other news, VP Sudhanshu Chhabra sold 52,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.55, for a total value of $1,720,300.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 80,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,608,915.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Sudhanshu Chhabra sold 52,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.55, for a total transaction of $1,720,300.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 80,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,608,915.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 10,035 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $351,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 374,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,124,370. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,812 shares of company stock worth $5,865,786 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ZWS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.17.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.