Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 55,377 Shares of Mueller Water Products $MWA

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 32.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 117,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 55,377 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Mueller Water Products worth $2,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 16.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,795,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $503,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840,895 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 66.2% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,401,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $137,296,000 after buying an additional 2,152,096 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 21.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,052,000 after buying an additional 865,977 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,651,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,817,000 after purchasing an additional 636,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 95.4% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,212,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,247 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MWA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.37, for a total value of $227,335.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,067.57. The trade was a 91.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.78 per share, for a total transaction of $27,584.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 16,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $433,104. This represents a 6.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,664 shares of company stock valued at $909,819. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $25.67 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.75 and a 200 day moving average of $25.24. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.86, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Mueller Water Products has a 12-month low of $21.35 and a 12-month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 10.67%.The company had revenue of $237.40 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

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.