Nuance Investments LLC Has $7.32 Million Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Nuance Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 82.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 325,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,508,021 shares during the quarter. Nuance Investments LLC owned 0.21% of Mueller Water Products worth $7,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after acquiring an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 19.8% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,467,000 after purchasing an additional 64,399 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,696,000 after acquiring an additional 50,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 28.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,534,000 after purchasing an additional 77,772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $26.53 on Wednesday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.81 and a twelve month high of $28.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.78.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

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.