Vontobel Holding Ltd. Trims Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27,169 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 399.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,055 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter valued at about $14,040,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter valued at about $13,031,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% during the second 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 buying an additional 682,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,154,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $2,112,375.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Mueller Water Products news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total value of $1,993,568.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,630,326.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 102,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 256,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,141,842. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $22.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.13 and a 52 week high of $23.12.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $356.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.064 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.06%.

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.