Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 59,347 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 47.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 59,347 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,775,000 after buying an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 87.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 4,275 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $1,573,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $100,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 17,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products 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 in the company, valued at $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.09 and a 12 month high of $28.58. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $25.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.79.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $364.30 million for 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 for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MWA. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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