Mueller Water Products $MWA Stock: VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Cuts Position

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al decreased its holdings in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 40.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 76,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 51,000 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Paralel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at $2,172,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter worth about $1,571,000. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,522,000. Diversified Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,753,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,516,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

MWA stock opened at $24.05 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.99. Mueller Water Products has a 1 year low of $20.90 and a 1 year high of $31.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 4.64 and a quick ratio of 3.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.82.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The company had revenue of $376.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $375.51 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 15.02%. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 19.86%.

Mueller Water Products announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $300 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,376 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $29,928.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $572,503.50. This trade represents a 5.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total transaction of $291,923.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,824 shares in the company, valued at $746,865.52. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,598 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,685. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc (NYSE:MWA) manufactures products and provides services used in the treatment, transmission, distribution, and measurement of water. Its customers include municipalities, water utilities, distributors, contractors, and industrial organizations.

The company’s product portfolio includes water valves, fire hydrants, pipe fittings, repair and connection products, and related infrastructure equipment. Through its Echologics business, Mueller also provides acoustic leak-detection technologies and other solutions designed to help utilities monitor and manage water distribution systems.

Mueller Water Products traces its history to Mueller Co, which was founded in 1857.