PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,171 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,003,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $216,048,000 after buying an additional 147,482 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 13,161,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $189,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,785 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,498,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,981,000 after purchasing an additional 974,333 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,740,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,069,000 after purchasing an additional 430,572 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,417,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,006,000 after purchasing an additional 138,018 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 6,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.09, for a total transaction of $127,101.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $540,896.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 2,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.18 per share, for a total transaction of $50,827.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,827. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 6,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.09, for a total transaction of $127,101.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,896.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Baird R W raised shares of Mueller Water Products to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $17.55 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $17.64 and its 200 day moving average is $15.84. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.11 and a 52 week high of $19.43. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.15. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $353.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.064 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 40.63%.

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.