Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 50.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 57,750 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth about $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 44.2% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 434.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 341.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 4,355 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares in the company, valued at $967,848.66. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

MWA stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.04. The company had a trading volume of 465,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,279,778. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $13.08 and a one year high of $26.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $23.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.63.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.20.

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.