Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Takes Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% in the fourth 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. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 791,569 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 55.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,056,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,274,000 after purchasing an additional 730,442 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,644,603 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,004,000 after purchasing an additional 662,637 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth $12,757,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE MWA traded down $1.05 on Friday, hitting $23.27. 2,125,693 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,575,238. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $25.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.03. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.81 and a fifty-two week high of $28.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.