Versor Investments LP Makes New Investment in Mueller Water Products $MWA

Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 24,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $585,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,795,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $503,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840,895 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 66.2% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,401,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $137,296,000 after buying an additional 2,152,096 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 21.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,052,000 after buying an additional 865,977 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 95.4% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,212,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,671,000 after buying an additional 1,568,247 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 18.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,440,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,038,000 after buying an additional 383,884 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $25.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.26. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $21.35 and a twelve month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $237.40 million for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 10.67%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 29.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.33.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.78 per share, with a total value of $27,584.60. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 16,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $433,104. This represents a 6.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 24,005 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.15, for a total transaction of $627,730.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 86,163 shares in the company, valued at $2,253,162.45. The trade was a 21.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 34,664 shares of company stock valued at $909,819 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company 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.