Insider Selling: Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Director Sells 12,048 Shares

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total value of $291,923.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,865.52. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:MWA traded down $0.24 on Monday, reaching $24.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 846,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,201. Mueller Water Products has a 12-month low of $22.74 and a 12-month high of $31.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.81. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $395.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.49 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 15.02%.The company’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 153,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 30,862 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 87.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 122,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,113,000 after buying an additional 57,053 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the first quarter worth about $205,000. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the first quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 572,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,558,000 after buying an additional 56,404 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays initiated coverage on Mueller Water Products in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 target price on Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.20.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company’s operations are organized around two primary business segments.