Glenmede Trust Co. NA Cuts Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Glenmede Trust Co. NA lowered its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,678 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 3.1% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

MWA opened at $25.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.33. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.40 and a 1-year high of $26.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.30 and a 200-day moving average of $20.75. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.37.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,488,684.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,295 shares of company stock valued at $1,840,956 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

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.