30,940 Shares in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Acquired by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 30,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $671,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter valued at approximately $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 341.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 4,355 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 434.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $967,848.66. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen downgraded 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 report on Friday, August 9th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.08 and a twelve month high of $26.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.04 and its 200 day moving average is $20.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 35.62%.

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.