Driehaus Capital Management LLC Sells 10,785 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 949,401 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,785 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.61% of Mueller Water Products worth $21,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 171.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 3.6%

MWA traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $25.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,661,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,451. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $25.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.66. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.09 and a 52 week high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 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 business had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of 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 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 valued at $914,076. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MWA shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.25.

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.