Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Mueller Water Products $MWA

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,573 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Mueller Water Products worth $1,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MWA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 66.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,052,000 after purchasing an additional 865,977 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,449,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,987,000 after purchasing an additional 796,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 1.9%

MWA stock opened at $23.74 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $25.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.06. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 23.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 1,288 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total transaction of $34,660.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,532.33. The trade was a 62.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.78 per share, with a total value of $27,584.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $433,104. This trade represents a 6.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.