Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Stock Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,901,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 413,994 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 3.15% of Mueller Water Products worth $87,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 3.7% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 757,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,193,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $14,642,000. Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 43.5% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 256,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 77,810 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the first quarter valued at $452,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,528,000 after purchasing an additional 682,740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $21.07 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.38 and its 200-day moving average is $18.31. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.70 and a quick ratio of 2.31. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.13 and a 12 month high of $21.51.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $356.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.67 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.064 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at $2,112,375.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Mueller Water Products news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total transaction of $1,993,568.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,630,326.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 102,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 256,869 shares of company stock worth $5,141,842. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.