Insider Selling: Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Director Sells 10,791 Shares of Stock

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,114,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,260,088. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.70. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.08 and a 1-year high of $26.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.34.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.99%.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the third quarter worth $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the second quarter worth about $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 44.2% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

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.