Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 634,729 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 173,805 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. owned 0.41% of Mueller Water Products worth $14,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $146,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth approximately $192,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value 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. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MWA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of MWA traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.14. The company had a trading volume of 263,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,576,820. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.84 and a 52-week high of $28.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.37.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.