Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 89,370 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 189,544 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 89,370 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.12% of Mueller Water Products worth $4,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $24.62. 110,037 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,559,809. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.09 and a 52 week high of $28.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.15 and a 200 day moving average of $24.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $181,228.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,600 shares of company stock valued at $914,076. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MWA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products presently 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.