Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 39,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $880,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MWA. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,895,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 908,970 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $19,725,000 after acquiring an additional 37,095 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $681,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in 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 valued at $85,317,000 after purchasing an additional 12,438 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

NYSE MWA traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, reaching $22.84. 476,729 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,287,511. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.81 and a 12 month high of $28.58. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $25.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.10. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products 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 transaction, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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 research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.80.

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.