Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Acquires 48,384 Shares of Mueller Water Products $MWA

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,166,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,384 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 1.39% of Mueller Water Products worth $52,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.8% during the first quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 64,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 59,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,419,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 5.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 112.5% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 11.6% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 1,288 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total transaction of $34,660.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,532.33. This trade represents a 62.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.78 per share, with a total value of $27,584.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 16,800 shares in the company, valued at $433,104. This trade represents a 6.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $23.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.06 and a 200 day moving average of $25.08. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.18. Mueller Water Products has a 12-month low of $21.35 and a 12-month high of $28.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.86, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 23.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

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.