Thompson Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,270 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,270 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 36.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. This represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

MWA stock opened at $27.33 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.67 and a 52-week high of $28.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.83.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

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.