Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Decreases Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,228 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 193,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,115,000 after purchasing an additional 21,604 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 76,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 11,463 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter worth approximately $608,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter worth approximately $452,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total value of $1,993,568.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,630,326.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total transaction of $1,993,568.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,630,326.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at $2,112,375.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 121,616 shares of company stock valued at $2,390,796 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 6.8 %

MWA opened at $25.68 on Friday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $12.59 and a one year high of $25.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.70.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.067 dividend. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 35.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report 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 company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.