Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Diametric Capital LP

Diametric Capital LP lessened its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,500 shares during the period. Diametric Capital LP’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $222,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916,552 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,996,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 514.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 970,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,826,000 after buying an additional 812,127 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $197,456,000 after buying an additional 791,569 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,056,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,274,000 after buying an additional 730,442 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 report 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 research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE MWA opened at $26.08 on Thursday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $14.81 and a one year high of $28.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.01. The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. Research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

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.