Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 791,569 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 791,569 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 5.52% of Mueller Water Products worth $197,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth approximately $259,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,055,545 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,915,000 after buying an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,897,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,036,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MWA traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,212,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,449. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $13.49 and a one year high of $26.28. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $23.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.06.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.