Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 50.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 57,750 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 908,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,725,000 after purchasing an additional 37,095 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at about $189,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 318.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 58,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 44,751 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 94.3% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 10,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,848.66. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MWA opened at $25.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.08 and a 12 month high of $26.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.62.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MWA. StockNews.com downgraded 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 issued a $27.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products 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.