Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 924,706 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,391 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.59% of Mueller Water Products worth $20,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $197,456,000 after buying an additional 791,569 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 100.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 25,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 12,724 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $414,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.5 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $22.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.68. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.49 and a 1-year high of $26.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 35.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $88,971.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $967,848.66. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.20.

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.