Summit Global Investments Lowers Stock Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Summit Global Investments lowered its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,629 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth about $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth about $146,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in 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 worth $141,000 after buying an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

MWA opened at $26.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.65. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.81 and a twelve month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.