9,548 Shares in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Bought by PFG Advisors

PFG Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 77,467 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,057,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 256.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 30,475 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 364.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 401,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,716,000 after purchasing an additional 315,224 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 189.4% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 114,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,491,000 after buying an additional 75,144 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 3.7 %

MWA stock opened at $27.29 on Friday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.81 and a 52 week high of $28.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. 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 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Mueller Water Products

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.