Hendershot Investments Inc. Sells 6,075 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Hendershot Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 38.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,075 shares during the quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 36.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.8 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $27.33 on Friday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.67 and a 12-month high of $28.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.50 and its 200 day moving average is $22.35.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $967,848.66. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company 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.