Mueller Water Products $MWA Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its stake in Mueller Water Products by 5.6%, selling 41,255 shares and leaving 694,014 shares valued at $16.53 million, while institutional ownership stands at about 91.7%.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" on MWA with an average price target of $31.33, as Oppenheimer and Robert W. Baird raised targets and RBC bumped its target to $29.00.
• Mueller beat Q4 estimates with $0.29 EPS (vs. $0.27) and $318.2M revenue, pays a $0.07 quarterly dividend (1.0% yield), and several company insiders recently bought shares, signaling confidence from management.

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its holdings in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 694,014 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 41,255 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.44% of Mueller Water Products worth $16,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,825,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $140,042,000 after acquiring an additional 945,258 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,118,795 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $79,592,000 after buying an additional 330,231 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 112.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,267,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,099,000 after buying an additional 1,198,801 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,727,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,075,000 after buying an additional 415,654 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 525.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,393,293 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,557,000 after buying an additional 1,170,683 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MWA. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $32.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 price objective on Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.33.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA opened at $27.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $22.01 and a fifty-two week high of $31.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The business's 50-day moving average is $28.46 and its 200-day moving average is $26.19.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 22.34% and a net margin of 13.83%.The firm had revenue of $318.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.41 per share, with a total value of $27,461.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $437,549.25. This trade represents a 6.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack bought 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.58 per share, with a total value of $739,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $739,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company's portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company's operations are organized around two primary business segments.

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