Moors & Cabot Inc. Sells 10,250 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Moors & Cabot Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 50.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,975 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,250 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 77,467 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,775,000 after acquiring an additional 208,502 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,467,000 after acquiring an additional 64,399 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,696,000 after acquiring an additional 50,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,534,000 after acquiring an additional 77,772 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the company'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 approximately $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MWA. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $27.70. 3,235,389 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,311,664. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.56. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.81 and a 1-year high of $28.66. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.