Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 634,729 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 173,805 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Mueller Water Products worth $14,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916,552 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 79.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $90,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,366 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at $20,996,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $21,826,000 after buying an additional 812,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $197,456,000 after buying an additional 791,569 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $275,294.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,673,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,588. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.84 and a 52-week high of $28.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.02, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.34.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

Mueller Water Products 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.