Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 49,231 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 157,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 49,231 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $3,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 4,456 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at $146,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $27.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $14.81 and a one year high of $28.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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 investment 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 a consensus price target of $25.80.

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.