Man Group plc Has $21.65 Million Stock Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Man Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 962,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 146,276 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.61% of Mueller Water Products worth $21,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in 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 lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth about $100,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,085 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.32 per share, with a total value 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 90 days, insiders sold 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of MWA traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $25.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,126,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,307. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.09 and a 52 week high of $28.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.57 and a 200 day moving average of $24.82. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS 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 business had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.