Janus Henderson Group PLC Raises Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 273.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 260,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 190,878 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.17% of Mueller Water Products worth $5,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $25.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.79. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.09 and a 12-month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. The company had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $181,228.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MWA has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.25.

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.