ProShare Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products $MWA

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 261,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27,138 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $6,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 66.1% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,535,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203,088 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 525.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,393,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,557,000 after buying an additional 1,170,683 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,825,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $140,042,000 after buying an additional 945,258 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,449,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,987,000 after acquiring an additional 796,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 344.1% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 945,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,733,000 after acquiring an additional 732,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of MWA opened at $29.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.88 and a 200 day moving average of $25.50. Mueller Water Products has a 52-week low of $22.01 and a 52-week high of $30.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $318.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.26 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.41 per share, for a total transaction of $27,461.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,925 shares in the company, valued at $437,549.25. This trade represents a 6.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 15,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total transaction of $371,614.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 85,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,115,276.54. The trade was a 14.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company’s operations are organized around two primary business segments.