Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Bought by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 87.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,275 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth approximately $146,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 36.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter valued at $189,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $23.13 on Wednesday. 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 12-month low of $13.49 and a 12-month high of $26.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.41 and its 200-day moving average is $22.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 36.99%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

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.