Natixis Investment Managers International Cuts Position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS)

Natixis Investment Managers International cut its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) by 25.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,911 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,018 shares during the period. Natixis Investment Managers International’s holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions were worth $97,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZWS. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 2,110.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,311,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206,508 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $39,532,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 1,622.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,244,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,985 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 68.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,275,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,684,000 after purchasing an additional 518,733 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 3,236.0% during the fourth 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ZWS shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Five 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Christopoul sold 10,495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.11, for a total value of $336,994.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 104,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,366,540.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Ice Mountain Llc sold 48,388 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.97, for a total transaction of $1,595,352.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,220,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,551,335.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Christopoul sold 10,495 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.11, for a total transaction of $336,994.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 104,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,366,540.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 251,442 shares of company stock worth $7,716,844. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE ZWS traded up $0.94 on Thursday, reaching $31.56. 994,622 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 953,330. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $25.09 and a 12 month high of $34.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.10. The company has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $374.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $369.43 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.07%.

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.