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

Jane Street Group LLC lowered its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 61.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 189,613 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Mueller Water Products worth $2,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $451,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,055 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,031,000. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth about $14,040,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.3 %

MWA opened at $22.94 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.49 and a 52 week high of $26.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.37.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $967,848.66. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% 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.