Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 233,648 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 36,434 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.15% of Mueller Water Products worth $5,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $197,456,000 after buying an additional 791,569 shares during the period. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $9,780,000. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 382.0% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 537,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,665,000 after purchasing an additional 426,038 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 364.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 401,683 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,716,000 after buying an additional 315,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,775,000 after buying an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MWA. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of MWA stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $25.20. 793,133 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,446,335. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.07. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.81 and a fifty-two week high of $28.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.42, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Mueller Water Products Company 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.