Jane Street Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Jane Street Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 41.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 49,052 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916,552 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 79.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $90,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,366 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at $20,996,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 514.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 970,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,826,000 after purchasing an additional 812,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 55.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,056,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,274,000 after purchasing an additional 730,442 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MWA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.64 on Monday. 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.79. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,600 shares of company stock valued at $914,076 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.