Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $2.14 Million Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 369.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,457 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 77,467 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Mueller Water Products worth $2,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MWA traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,055,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,336,259. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.08 and a fifty-two week high of $26.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.39. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company had revenue of $348.20 million for 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 company's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This is an increase 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 1.06%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MWA. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.20.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is 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.