Millstone Evans Group LLC Buys New Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,952,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,926,000 after buying an additional 7,567 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MWA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA opened at $26.90 on Monday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.81 and a 12-month high of $28.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.28 and its 200 day moving average is $23.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

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.