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

Graham Capital Management L.P. reduced its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 69.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 106,163 shares during the period. 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.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 217,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,892,000 after buying an additional 42,451 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 802,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,065,000 after buying an additional 232,195 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 18,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MWA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.25.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety 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 Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE MWA opened at $26.06 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.09 and a fifty-two week high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $364.30 million during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

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.