Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Boosts Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 73.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,801 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 20,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $738,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 36.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 18.6% in the third quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 384,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,354,000 after purchasing an additional 60,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.3% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 620,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,464,000 after buying an additional 19,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MWA opened at $24.30 on Monday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.49 and a 1-year high of $26.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 35.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MWA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value 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. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.