Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Raises Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 108.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,751 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at about $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during the 3rd 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. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,000. Finally, 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 valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $25.40 on Thursday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.81 and a 1 year high of $28.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.90 and its 200 day moving average is $22.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,424.56. This represents a 57.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MWA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Company 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.