Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Bought by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 722 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after buying an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,696,000 after buying an additional 50,119 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 31,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 11,711 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 199,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,494,000 after buying an additional 22,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth about $1,573,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of 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, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.2%

MWA opened at $25.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.72. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year high of $28.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. The business had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.30 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

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.