Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 25,986 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Verition Fund Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,711 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,986 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,093,000 after buying an additional 2,369,055 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,999,869 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,838,000 after acquiring an additional 395,123 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,944,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,200,000 after purchasing an additional 37,729 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,055,545 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,915,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,528,000 after purchasing an additional 682,740 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on MWA shares. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA traded down $0.38 during trading on Monday, hitting $24.93. 804,026 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,245,490. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $23.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.89. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.14, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.37. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.49 and a 52-week high of $26.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,488,684.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. This represents a 57.28 % 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, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.