Mueller Water Products $MWA Holdings Boosted by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Mueller Water Products stake by 37.5% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 626,617 shares worth approximately $13.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.68% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: Mueller Water Products has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $27, with recent downgrades from Goldman Sachs, RBC and other firms.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.50 per share, beating estimates of $0.39, while revenue rose 4.1% year over year to $395.9 million. Mueller also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.07, equivalent to a 1.3% annual yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 626,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 170,800 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.40% of Mueller Water Products worth $13,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 466,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,035 shares during the period. Diversified Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,753,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 79,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,049,000 after buying an additional 5,408 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,787 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 154.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 32,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 19,442 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MWA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Mueller Water Products from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Barclays began coverage on Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MWA opened at $21.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.64, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm's 50 day moving average is $23.19 and its 200-day moving average is $25.20. Mueller Water Products has a 12 month low of $20.90 and a 12 month high of $31.00.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 earnings per share 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 posted $0.34 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.86%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total transaction of $291,923.04. Following the sale, the director owned 30,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $746,865.52. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul McAndrew sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total value of $1,055,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,052.84. The trade was a 48.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 52,598 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,685 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc develops and manufactures products used to build, maintain and monitor water transmission and distribution systems. Its offerings help utilities and other infrastructure operators control water flow, connect and repair pipelines, manage pressure and identify leaks.

The company's product portfolio includes water valves, fire hydrants, pipe fittings and repair products, metering and monitoring systems, leak-detection technologies, and related flow-control equipment.

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