Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 642,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,808 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $14,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MWA. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 13,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MWA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $24.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.98 and a 12 month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

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.