Versor Investments LP Sells 9,400 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Versor Investments LP lowered its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 43,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,400 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MWA. Creative Planning raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 6.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth $308,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 15.2% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 86,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,875,000 after buying an additional 11,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 77,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MWA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MWA opened at $25.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.52, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.96. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.81 and a 12 month high of $28.25.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

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.