Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stake in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) by 60.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Xylem were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. City Holding Co. raised its holdings in shares of Xylem by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 2,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Xylem by 0.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in Xylem by 56.7% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Xylem by 3.6% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Xylem by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Xylem from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Xylem from $175.00 to $154.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Xylem from $148.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.50.

Xylem Stock Performance

NYSE:XYL opened at $121.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.96. Xylem Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $111.72 and a fifty-two week high of $146.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $120.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.37. The firm has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.06.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.11. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Xylem had a net margin of 9.85% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Xylem’s payout ratio is 42.11%.

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.