Graham Capital Management L.P. Sells 106,163 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Graham Capital Management L.P. cut its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 69.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 106,163 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MWA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MWA traded down $0.20 on Monday, reaching $25.43. 88,246 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,571,412. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $25.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.79. 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 cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56, 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 data 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 company had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. Mueller Water Products's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.05%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $181,228.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 approximately $370,178.40. The trade was a 8.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,600 shares of company stock valued at $914,076. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.