Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Takes $2.18 Million Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 135,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,183,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Mueller Water Products at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1,340.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 4,422 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,708 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 345,700.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 6,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter valued at about $143,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 2,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.18 per share, with a total value of $50,827.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,827. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 6,658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.09, for a total transaction of $127,101.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $540,896.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian C. Healy bought 2,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.18 per share, with a total value of $50,827.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,827. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA stock opened at $17.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.75. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $12.11 and a one year high of $19.43.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.15. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $353.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.064 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 40.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

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.