Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 527,186 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 65.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 284,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 527,186 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $6,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 341.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 4,355 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 434.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 36.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MWA. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MWA stock opened at $22.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.84 and a 200 day moving average of $21.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.49 and a 1-year high of $26.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 35.62%.

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.