Fox Run Management L.L.C. Invests $911,000 in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 40,475 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $911,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 791,569 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,931,662 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $85,317,000 after buying an additional 12,438 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $76,809,000 after acquiring an additional 73,069 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,916,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,056,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,274,000 after acquiring an additional 730,442 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MWA has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $26.28. 2,936,927 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,456,722. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.81 and a 1 year high of $28.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $25.55 and its 200 day moving average is $23.80.

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

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

About Mueller Water Products

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.