Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 272,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 74,499 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.17% of Mueller Water Products worth $6,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,688,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,502,000 after buying an additional 888,591 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 705,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,868,000 after buying an additional 167,657 shares during the last quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. now owns 19,821 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 4,214 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 113,820 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,561,000 after buying an additional 24,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,657,691 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $37,298,000 after buying an additional 97,854 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.64. 1,345,484 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,577,324. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.09 and a fifty-two week high of $28.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.79.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Mueller Water Products's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. 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 will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is 28.57%.

Mueller Water Products Company 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.