Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 2,916,552 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 2,962.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,916,552 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.93% of Mueller Water Products worth $67,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,775,000 after purchasing an additional 208,502 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,467,000 after acquiring an additional 64,399 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at $451,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,534,000 after acquiring an additional 77,772 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 256.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 30,475 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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. Also, 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 value of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,424.56. The trade was a 57.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA traded down $1.13 on Friday, reaching $25.35. 474,739 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,487,027. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.81 and a 52-week high of $28.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $23.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.80.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.80.

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.