23,740 Shares in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Acquired by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,740 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,055 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $14,040,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,031,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,528,000 after buying an additional 682,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,154,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,683 shares in the company, valued at $967,848.66. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

MWA remained flat at $25.58 on Tuesday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 741,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,252,549. The firm's fifty day moving average is $23.12 and its 200-day moving average is $20.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.37. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.40 and a 12 month high of $26.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. Mueller Water Products's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MWA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.20.

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.