Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 2,073 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,073 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,231,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,070,000 after purchasing an additional 227,843 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.5% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,143,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,571,000 after buying an additional 15,346 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,093,000 after buying an additional 2,369,055 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,512,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,182,000 after buying an additional 115,963 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,055,545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,915,000 after buying an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MWA shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mueller Water Products news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total transaction of $1,993,568.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,630,326.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total transaction of $175,472.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,898.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total transaction of $1,993,568.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,630,326.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 256,869 shares of company stock worth $5,141,842 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of MWA opened at $21.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.34. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.13 and a 12-month high of $21.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.46.

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

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.064 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 39.06%.

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.