Castleark Management LLC Trims Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Castleark Management LLC decreased its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 369,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,580 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Mueller Water Products worth $8,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916,552 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 79.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $90,318,000 after buying an additional 1,780,366 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,996,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,688,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,502,000 after acquiring an additional 888,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 514.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 970,055 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,826,000 after acquiring an additional 812,127 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 60.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.32 per share, for a total transaction of $27,472.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,620 shares in the company, valued at $370,178.40. The trade was a 8.02% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,600 shares of company stock valued at $914,076 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $24.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,014,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,568,926. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.86. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.09 and a 12-month high of $28.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. The business had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

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

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.