Hendershot Investments Inc. Has $223,000 Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Hendershot Investments Inc. lowered its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,075 shares during the quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth about $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $146,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $27.33 on Friday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.67 and a fifty-two week high of $28.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.50 and a 200-day moving average of $22.35.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MWA. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. 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 report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,488,684.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. This represents a 57.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144 in the last quarter. Company 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.