Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 861,138 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 90,429 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Mueller Water Products worth $19,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 908,970 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $19,725,000 after purchasing an additional 37,095 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $681,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of 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. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake 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 valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,757 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

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

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MWA traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.74. The company had a trading volume of 123,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,159. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.81 and a twelve month high of $28.58. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $25.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.19. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on 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 lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently 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.