Alberta Investment Management Corp Acquires 22,045 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 199,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 22,045 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 0.13% of Mueller Water Products worth $4,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 5,387.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 220,447 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,784,000 after purchasing an additional 216,430 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 27,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter worth $308,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $1.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.40. The stock had a trading volume of 525,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,488,657. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.80. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.81 and a 52 week high of $28.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.80.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,488,684.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. The trade was a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.