D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 553 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 553 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 75,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 14,566 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,077,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at about $346,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth $346,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,528,000 after purchasing an additional 682,740 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.59 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.67. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.40 and a 52 week high of $26.28.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $967,848.66. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MWA shares. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

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.