Barclays PLC Purchases 208,502 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 361.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 266,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 208,502 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.17% of Mueller Water Products worth $5,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,931,662 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $85,317,000 after acquiring an additional 12,438 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 2,369,055 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $35,838,000 after buying an additional 395,123 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,944,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,200,000 after acquiring an additional 37,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,055,545 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,915,000 after buying an additional 61,122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.20.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,972,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,178. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.49 and a 12-month high of $26.28. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.87 and its 200 day moving average is $21.20.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. 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 is 36.99%.

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.