AlphaQuest LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,563 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 55,248 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

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Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $26.36. 1,884,902 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,270,632. The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.34. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.81 and a 1 year high of $28.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MWA. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Mueller Water Products

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.