Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,745 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 793 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 9,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 4.0% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 7.7% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 25,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.2% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 73,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,898.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,898.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 6,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.62, for a total transaction of $103,997.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 34,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $534,141.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,458 shares of company stock valued at $1,052,260 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE:MWA opened at $15.90 on Friday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.11 and a 12 month high of $16.93. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.57 and its 200-day moving average is $14.19.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.04. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The company had revenue of $256.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.064 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 52.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

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.