Convergence Investment Partners LLC Has $1.45 Million Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 44.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,556 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 20,016 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $197,456,000 after buying an additional 791,569 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in 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 buying an additional 12,438 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $76,809,000 after buying an additional 73,069 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,838,000 after buying an additional 2,916,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,944,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,200,000 after buying an additional 37,729 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares of the company's stock, 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Oppenheimer reissued 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Mueller Water Products stock traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,011,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,503,786. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.87 and a 200-day moving average of $22.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.81 and a 52 week high of $28.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is 31.40%.

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.