Mueller Water Products $MWA Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 11.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,118,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 330,231 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.00% of Mueller Water Products worth $79,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 131.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 355.4% in the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 2,218 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the second quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 677.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MWA. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 price target on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.33.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE:MWA opened at $29.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 4.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.15. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $22.01 and a fifty-two week high of $31.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.90.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The business had revenue of $318.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack acquired 25,000 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.58 per share, with a total value of $739,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $739,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.41 per share, for a total transaction of $27,461.25. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,925 shares in the company, valued at $437,549.25. This represents a 6.70% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company’s operations are organized around two primary business segments.