432,538 Shares in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Acquired by Lightrock Netherlands B.V.

Lightrock Netherlands B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 432,538 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $9,780,000. Mueller Water Products accounts for about 3.4% of Lightrock Netherlands B.V.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. owned approximately 0.28% of Mueller Water Products as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $197,456,000 after acquiring an additional 791,569 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 382.0% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 537,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,665,000 after acquiring an additional 426,038 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 364.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 401,683 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,716,000 after acquiring an additional 315,224 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 5,387.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 220,447 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,784,000 after acquiring an additional 216,430 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,775,000 after acquiring an additional 208,502 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,470,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,553,010. The company has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.61. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.81 and a 52 week high of $28.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is presently 31.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.80.

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.