Horizon Investment Services LLC Buys New Shares in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Horizon Investment Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 35,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,775,000 after buying an additional 208,502 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,467,000 after acquiring an additional 64,399 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,696,000 after purchasing an additional 50,119 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 28.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,534,000 after purchasing an additional 77,772 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 3.1 %

MWA opened at $25.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.86. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.81 and a twelve month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

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.