Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) SVP Todd Helms Sells 10,720 Shares of Stock

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) SVP Todd Helms sold 10,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.61, for a total transaction of $295,979.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 64,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,209.97. This represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

MWA stock opened at $27.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.15. 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 has a 52-week low of $22.01 and a 52-week high of $31.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.01.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $318.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.26 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 22.34%. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 22,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 35,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 target price on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.33.

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.