Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 50.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 57,750 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter valued at about $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 341.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $88,971.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,848.66. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.08 and a 12-month high of $26.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.62.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. Mueller Water Products’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 35.62%.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc manufactures and markets products and services for the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water used by municipalities, and the residential and non-residential construction industries in the United States, Israel, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions.