Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 147,482 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,003,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 147,482 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.61% of Mueller Water Products worth $216,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 13,161,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $189,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,785 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $14,642,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,498,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,981,000 after buying an additional 974,333 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,740,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,069,000 after acquiring an additional 430,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,423,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,901,000 after acquiring an additional 366,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 51,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $976,247.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 34,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,648.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 51,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $976,247.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 34,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,648.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian C. Healy bought 2,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.18 per share, with a total value of $50,827.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,650 shares in the company, valued at $50,827. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $17.56 on Tuesday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.11 and a 52-week high of $19.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 3.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.94. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $353.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.064 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 40.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MWA shares. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.