Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 369.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,467 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $2,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth about $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 44.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 341.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 434.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at $234,356.22. This trade represents 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 hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the 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 owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MWA opened at $22.37 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.33. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.49 and a 52-week high of $26.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The business had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid 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 was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 35.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MWA. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

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.