New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 94,000 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 109.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 180,037 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 94,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.12% of Mueller Water Products worth $4,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth about $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 468.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

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Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $25.17. 622,225 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,441,836. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.81 and a 12-month high of $28.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.10.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MWA. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% 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.