Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 77,467 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 369.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,457 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Mueller Water Products worth $2,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MWA. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $197,456,000 after buying an additional 791,569 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $76,809,000 after acquiring an additional 73,069 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 24.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,999,869 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,838,000 after purchasing an additional 395,123 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.37. The company had a trading volume of 641,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,141. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $23.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.55. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $13.49 and a one year high of $26.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22. The company had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is currently 35.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.