Jennison Associates LLC Takes Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 68,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,487,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 6.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,055,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,336,259. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.08 and a 12-month high of $26.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.60 and a 200-day moving average of $20.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.33.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MWA. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.