Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 369,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,580 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Mueller Water Products worth $8,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MWA. Barclays PLC grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,775,000 after acquiring an additional 208,502 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 87.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $199,000 after buying an additional 4,275 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $1,573,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 17,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.2%

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.27 on Wednesday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.09 and a 52 week high of $28.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.82. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.30 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $181,228.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.32 per share, with a total value of $27,472.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,178.40. This represents a 8.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MWA. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.25.

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.