Seven Eight Capital LP Makes New $1.13 Million Investment in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 63,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,129,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,369,055 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth about $14,642,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 974,333 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,040,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 682,740 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $21.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.70. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.13 and a fifty-two week high of $21.51. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.34.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $356.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.67 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 9.71%. Mueller Water Products’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.064 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 39.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen lowered Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total transaction of $1,993,568.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,630,326.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total transaction of $1,993,568.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,630,326.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 256,869 shares of company stock worth $5,141,842. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.