Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 642,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,808 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.41% of Mueller Water Products worth $14,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 79.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $90,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,366 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 861,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 90,429 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 110.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 88,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 46,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 70,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.1 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $24.85 on Wednesday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.98 and a twelve month high of $28.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

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.