Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Boosts Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 858 shares during the quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,931,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,317,000 after buying an additional 12,438 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,809,000 after buying an additional 73,069 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,838,000 after buying an additional 2,916,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,952,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,926,000 after purchasing an additional 7,567 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $27.75 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.94 and a 200-day moving average of $23.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.81 and a 1-year high of $28.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the 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 owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.