Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 2,949 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,949 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth about $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $146,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 36.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $26.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.28 and a 200-day moving average of $23.65. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.81 and a 52-week high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MWA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products 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.