Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Shares Purchased by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 196,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,600 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Mueller Water Products worth $4,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,954,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $381,478,000 after purchasing an additional 378,356 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,174,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $93,936,000 after buying an additional 596,956 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 79.7% during the fourth 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 21.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,651,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,817,000 after purchasing an additional 636,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,248,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,102,000 after acquiring an additional 220,025 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

MWA stock opened at $24.61 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.18. Mueller Water Products has a 1-year low of $18.55 and a 1-year high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.30 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 29.67%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,110 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.74 per share, for a total transaction of $27,461.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 15,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,160.20. The trade was a 7.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $181,228.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company 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.