Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Invests $1.57 Million in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 69,590 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,573,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $197,456,000 after purchasing an additional 791,569 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,931,662 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $85,317,000 after purchasing an additional 12,438 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $76,809,000 after purchasing an additional 73,069 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,999,869 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,838,000 after buying an additional 395,123 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,944,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,200,000 after buying an additional 37,729 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MWA shares. 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 research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % 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, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. This represents a 57.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.98. 723,598 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,138,705. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.49 and a twelve month high of $26.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.18. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. Mueller Water Products's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

About Mueller Water Products

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.