Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 74.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 150,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,163 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.10% of Mueller Water Products worth $3,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MWA. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $197,456,000 after buying an additional 791,569 shares during the period. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,780,000. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 382.0% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 537,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,665,000 after buying an additional 426,038 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 364.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 401,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,716,000 after buying an additional 315,224 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 5,387.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 220,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,784,000 after buying an additional 216,430 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MWA has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $26.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.81 and a 52-week high of $28.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 87,642 shares of company stock valued at $2,230,844. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.