Bfsg LLC Has $4.65 Million Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Bfsg LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 206,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,223 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $4,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings 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. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 633 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. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MWA has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $26.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 31.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.72 and its 200-day moving average is $22.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.83. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.81 and a 52 week high of $28.25.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 31.40%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $967,848.66. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 87,642 shares of company stock valued at $2,230,844 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.