Sei Investments Co. Trims Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Sei Investments Co. lowered its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,284 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $2,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 13,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MWA. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 4.3 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $23.27 on Friday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.81 and a 12-month high of $28.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.83 and a 200 day moving average of $24.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

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

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.