Quest Partners LLC Buys 75,144 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 189.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 114,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,144 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $2,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 399.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,369,055 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,040,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,031,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,528,000 after purchasing an additional 682,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,154,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA stock opened at $24.31 on Monday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.08 and a 12-month high of $26.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 3.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.09 and a 200-day moving average of $20.12.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

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.