National Bank of Canada FI Lowers Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,182 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $120,000 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,996,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 514.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 970,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,826,000 after purchasing an additional 812,127 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $197,456,000 after purchasing an additional 791,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,056,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,274,000 after buying an additional 730,442 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $24.51 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $14.81 and a one year high of $28.58. The company has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

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.