Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Sold by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC lessened its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 41.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,994 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 49,052 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 worth $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.32 per share, for a total transaction of $27,472.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $370,178.40. The trade was a 8.02% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,014,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,568,926. 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 fifty day moving average of $25.38 and a 200-day moving average of $24.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.09 and a 12-month high of $28.58.

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

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

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.