Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Soviero Asset Management LP

Soviero Asset Management LP decreased its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Soviero Asset Management LP’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $2,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916,552 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 79.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $90,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780,366 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,996,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,688,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,502,000 after acquiring an additional 888,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 514.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 970,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,826,000 after acquiring an additional 812,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $181,228.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.32 per share, with a total value of $27,472.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,178.40. This represents a 8.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE:MWA opened at $25.64 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. The firm had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 28.57%.

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.