Insider Selling: Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) CAO Sells 26,138 Shares of Stock

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 804,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,490. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.85. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.37. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $13.49 and a one year high of $26.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 44.2% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 341.0% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

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.