Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Nuance Investments LLC

Nuance Investments LLC lowered its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 64.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,833,217 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,375,069 shares during the period. Mueller Water Products comprises 1.3% of Nuance Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned approximately 1.18% of Mueller Water Products worth $39,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MWA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 44.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 341.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA traded up $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,114,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,260,088. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.08 and a twelve month high of $26.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 yield of 1.08%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is 36.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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