Perpetual Ltd Sells 11,559 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Perpetual Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 308,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,559 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned about 0.20% of Mueller Water Products worth $6,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $197,456,000 after buying an additional 791,569 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the third 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,809,000 after purchasing an additional 73,069 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,999,869 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,838,000 after purchasing an additional 395,123 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $23.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.49 and a 12 month high of $26.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.97.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The business had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MWA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.20.

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.