First Trust Advisors LP Buys 596,956 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,174,938 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 596,956 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 2.67% of Mueller Water Products worth $93,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MWA. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth $146,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth approximately $192,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MWA shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction 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 trade 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 Stock Performance

MWA traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.23. 987,691 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,579,631. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $15.84 and a one year high of $28.58. The stock's fifty day moving average is $25.62 and its 200 day moving average is $24.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26.

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

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.