Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 63.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32,126 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth $146,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth about $192,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $25.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.64 and a 200 day moving average of $24.34. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $15.76 and a one year high of $28.58. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

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.