Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,954,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 378,356 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.83% of Mueller Water Products worth $381,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 117.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 203,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after buying an additional 110,227 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 908,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,725,000 after purchasing an additional 37,095 shares in the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter worth $1,113,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter valued at $681,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

MWA stock opened at $26.08 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $25.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.01. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $14.81 and a one year high of $28.58. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This trade 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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

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.