Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 174,817 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 37.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 647,499 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 174,817 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.42% of Mueller Water Products worth $14,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,093,000 after buying an additional 2,369,055 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,999,869 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,838,000 after acquiring an additional 395,123 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,944,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,200,000 after acquiring an additional 37,729 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,528,000 after purchasing an additional 682,740 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MWA traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.04. 465,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,279,778. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.08 and a 12 month high of $26.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company's fifty day moving average price is $23.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.62. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The business'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 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is 36.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $967,848.66. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.