Summit Global Investments Invests $1.48 Million in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 68,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,484,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 15.2% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 86,383 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,875,000 after buying an additional 11,367 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,532,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at $308,000. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 25.1% in the third quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 27,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 5,606 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total transaction of $175,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $691,898.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total transaction of $175,472.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,699 shares in the company, valued at $691,898.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total transaction of $1,993,568.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,630,326.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 121,616 shares of company stock valued at $2,390,796. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA traded up $1.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,442,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,110,083. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.70 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.78. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.59 and a 52-week high of $25.71.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.71%. Mueller Water Products's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. 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%.

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.