Jane Street Group LLC Cuts Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Jane Street Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 61.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 189,613 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $2,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,931,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $85,317,000 after acquiring an additional 12,438 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the second 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. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 24.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,999,869 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,838,000 after purchasing an additional 395,123 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,944,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,200,000 after purchasing an additional 37,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,055,545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,915,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MWA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $22.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.25. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.49 and a 52-week high of $26.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company had revenue of $348.20 million for 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 19.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This is a boost 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 was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.