Brown Advisory Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,346,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 841,775 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 2.14% of Mueller Water Products worth $75,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MWA. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,775,000 after acquiring an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,696,000 after buying an additional 50,119 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 31,931 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 11,711 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 199,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,494,000 after acquiring an additional 22,045 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,573,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MWA shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,995,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $25.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. The business had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.