MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (NYSE:MWA) Position Reduced by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. lessened its stake in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,028,205 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 318,352 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 1.93% of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS worth $76,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS during the 1st quarter worth about $502,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 45.6% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 52,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 16,400 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS in the first quarter worth approximately $287,000. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 741.2% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 44,567 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 39,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 14.8% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 172,502 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,385,000 after acquiring an additional 22,279 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $181,228.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,110 shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.74 per share, with a total value of $27,461.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $389,160.20. This trade represents a 7.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of MWA traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.14. 616,889 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,584,855. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.18. MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS has a 12-month low of $18.55 and a 12-month 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The firm had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.25.

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.