Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $6.39 Million Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 65.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 527,186 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.18% of Mueller Water Products worth $6,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 341.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 4,355 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 468.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 36.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $22.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.93. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $13.49 and a one year high of $26.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The business had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 35.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

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.