Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Acquires 52,694 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 442,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,694 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $9,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

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

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $26.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.81 and a 1 year high of $28.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.62 and a 200 day moving average of $23.82.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

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.