Insider Selling: Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) SVP Sells 3,556 Shares of Stock

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $88,971.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $967,848.66. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA traded down $0.48 on Tuesday, reaching $25.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,176,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,257,220. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.08 and a twelve month high of $26.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 35.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen lowered 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 report on Friday, August 9th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted 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 valued at $18,528,000 after purchasing an additional 682,740 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 13.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 694,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,175,000 after acquiring an additional 83,567 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,077,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 77,467 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,231,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,070,000 after purchasing an additional 227,843 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mueller Water Products

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.