Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Insider J Scott Hall Sells 135,253 Shares

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total transaction of $2,751,046.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at $11,065,549.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

J Scott Hall also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 12th, J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of Mueller Water Products stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total transaction of $1,993,568.50.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.8 %

MWA traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.51. 1,318,907 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,268,141. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.13 and a 12-month high of $21.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.81 and a 200 day moving average of $17.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $356.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.064 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MWA. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1,340.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 4,422 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MWA shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.60.

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.