Comerica Bank Has $71,000 Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Comerica Bank lessened its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,023 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $71,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 171.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth about $100,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.32 per share, with a total value of $27,472.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,178.40. This trade represents a 8.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE MWA opened at $25.64 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.09 and a 12 month high of $28.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.62 and its 200 day moving average is $24.79. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.25.

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.