Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 63.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,150 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 32,126 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,838,000 after buying an additional 2,916,552 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth about $20,996,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 514.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 970,055 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,826,000 after acquiring an additional 812,127 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $197,456,000 after purchasing an additional 791,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,056,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,274,000 after purchasing an additional 730,442 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MWA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

NYSE:MWA traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.23. The stock had a trading volume of 987,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,477. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $15.84 and a one year high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.