KBC Group NV Sells 903,696 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

KBC Group NV cut its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,545,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 903,696 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.99% of Mueller Water Products worth $33,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MWA. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,055 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,040,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,031,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,528,000 after acquiring an additional 682,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

MWA opened at $24.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.91 and a 200 day moving average of $20.00. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.08 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 36.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,112,375.60. This trade represents a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Mueller Water Products 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.