Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 107,347 Shares of Mueller Water Products $MWA

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Mueller Water Products stake by 19.1%, selling 107,347 shares and retaining 455,817 shares worth approximately $11.8 million. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a mixed outlook, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $30.20; individual targets range from $29 to $35.
• Mueller Water Products exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.50 in EPS versus $0.39 forecast and revenue of $395.9 million, up 4.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07, representing a 1.1% annualized yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 455,817 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 107,347 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.29% of Mueller Water Products worth $11,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at $1,517,000. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $75,400,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth about $2,222,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 123,367 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,939,000 after purchasing an additional 45,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,571,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MWA. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Mueller Water Products from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.33 per share, with a total value of $29,965.39. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 24,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $631,882.18. This trade represents a 4.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul Mcandrew sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total value of $1,055,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,123,052.84. The trade was a 48.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE:MWA opened at $26.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.03. Mueller Water Products has a 1 year low of $22.74 and a 1 year high of $31.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $25.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 4.64 and a quick ratio of 3.08.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.11. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 15.02%.The firm had revenue of $395.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.86%.

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.

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