Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 315,224 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 364.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 401,683 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 315,224 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.26% of Mueller Water Products worth $8,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 8,617.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,882 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 21,631 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,231,209 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $245,070,000 after purchasing an additional 227,843 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.7% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 757,810 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,193,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 73.7% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 31,879 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 13,525 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 694,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,175,000 after purchasing an additional 83,567 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.18. 1,055,811 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,336,259. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.39. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.08 and a twelve month high of $26.28.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 36.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mueller Water Products 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.