Northern Trust Corp Grows Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,657,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 97,854 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.06% of Mueller Water Products worth $37,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MWA. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 537,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,084,000 after purchasing an additional 140,909 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 109,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,454,000 after buying an additional 9,563 shares during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth $313,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 483,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,868,000 after buying an additional 13,096 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MWA opened at $24.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.09 and a 52 week high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.30 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $181,228.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.