Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Bought by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 442,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,694 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.28% of Mueller Water Products worth $9,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 13,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.4 %

MWA stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.53. 359,311 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,320,703. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.96. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.81 and a 1 year high of $28.58.

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

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Five equities research 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, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.