Hantz Financial Services Inc. Decreases Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 160,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,133 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. owned about 0.10% of Mueller Water Products worth $3,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 77,467 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after purchasing an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 19.8% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,467,000 after buying an additional 64,399 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter valued at $451,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 28.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,534,000 after purchasing an additional 77,772 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.9 %

MWA opened at $23.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.18. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.49 and a twelve month high of $26.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.99%.

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.