Mueller Water Products $MWA Stock: Vest Financial LLC Raises Holdings

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 42.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 299,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,168 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $6,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 16,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 2,457 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 37.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 626,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,309,000 after purchasing an additional 170,800 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 466,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,907,000 after buying an additional 7,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth $1,753,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE:MWA opened at $22.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.08. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $20.90 and a fifty-two week high of $31.00.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $395.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.49 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.86%.

Mueller Water Products declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MWA has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price objective on Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Barclays assumed coverage on Mueller Water Products in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total value of $291,923.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $746,865.52. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul McAndrew sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total transaction of $1,055,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 42,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,052.84. The trade was a 48.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,598 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,685. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc (NYSE:MWA) manufactures products and provides services used in the treatment, transmission, distribution, and measurement of water. Its customers include municipalities, water utilities, distributors, contractors, and industrial organizations.

The company’s product portfolio includes water valves, fire hydrants, pipe fittings, repair and connection products, and related infrastructure equipment. Through its Echologics business, Mueller also provides acoustic leak-detection technologies and other solutions designed to help utilities monitor and manage water distribution systems.

Mueller Water Products traces its history to Mueller Co, which was founded in 1857.