KBC Group NV Lowers Position in Mueller Water Products $MWA

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 97.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 170,733 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 16.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,795,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $503,201,000 after buying an additional 2,840,895 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 66.2% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,401,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $137,296,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,096 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $124,052,000 after purchasing an additional 865,977 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,440,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,038,000 after purchasing an additional 383,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $61,497,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.78 per share, for a total transaction of $27,584.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 16,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $433,104. The trade was a 6.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 1,288 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total transaction of $34,660.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,532.33. This represents a 62.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 1.9%

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $23.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.86, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $21.35 and a twelve month high of $28.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.06.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $237.40 million during the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 10.67%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 23.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

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.