Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 21.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 811,203 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 222,736 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.52% of Mueller Water Products worth $17,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 399.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,055 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth $14,040,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter valued at $13,031,000. Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the second quarter worth about $9,154,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 281.7% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 663,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,895,000 after buying an additional 489,902 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total value of $1,993,568.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at $10,630,326.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 102,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total value of $1,993,568.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at $10,630,326.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 256,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,141,842 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MWA shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

NYSE:MWA traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 749,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,248,657. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.13 and a 52-week high of $23.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.70. The business's 50-day moving average is $21.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.34.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $356.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.67 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 19.46%. The business's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.62%.

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.