Jane Street Group LLC Sells 189,613 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Jane Street Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 61.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,046 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 189,613 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.08% of Mueller Water Products worth $2,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 77,467 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at about $451,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,055 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth about $13,031,000. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth about $14,040,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. This represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MWA stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $22.83. 1,065,836 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,244,452. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.49 and a 1 year high of $26.28. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $23.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm 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 boost from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MWA. Oppenheimer reiterated 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 lowered 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.20.

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.