Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Director Lydia W. Thomas 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 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 transaction, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE MWA opened at $24.82 on Thursday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.08 and a 12 month high of $26.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.99, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.70 and a quick ratio of 2.31.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.067 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen cut Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.20.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 468.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,809,000 after acquiring an additional 73,069 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,467,000 after acquiring an additional 64,399 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,775,000 after purchasing an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 25,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 10,801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

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.