Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 74.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 64,163 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Mueller Water Products worth $3,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 36.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the business's 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 directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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 owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 454,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,513. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.80. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.81 and a 52 week high of $28.25.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given 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 is currently 31.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Mueller Water Products 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.