Diversified Trust Co Has $652,000 Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $197,456,000 after purchasing an additional 791,569 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth $13,031,000. Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth $9,154,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 281.7% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 663,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,895,000 after acquiring an additional 489,902 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth about $8,087,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MWA. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $21.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.68. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.49 and a twelve month high of $26.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 35.62%.

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.