Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Stake Boosted by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 64,399 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.25% of Mueller Water Products worth $8,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MWA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter valued at approximately $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 434.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 341.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,424.56. The trade was a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company's stock, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 72,295 shares of company stock worth $1,840,956. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.5 %

MWA traded down $0.38 during trading on Monday, hitting $24.93. 804,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,245,490. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.37. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.49 and a 12-month high of $26.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.46 and a 200 day moving average of $20.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.067 dividend. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.99%.

About Mueller Water Products

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.