Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Reduces Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd cut its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,018 shares during the quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 4.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 908,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,725,000 after buying an additional 37,095 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter valued at $681,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,931,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,317,000 after acquiring an additional 12,438 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA stock opened at $23.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.06. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $14.81 and a one year high of $28.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

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.