Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Buys 5,837 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 49.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,837 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth $1,509,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,642,000. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 256,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,130,000 after acquiring an additional 77,810 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter worth approximately $452,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,018,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 51,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $976,247.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 34,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,648.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Mueller Water Products news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 51,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $976,247.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 34,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,648.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 2,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.18 per share, with a total value of $50,827.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,827. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MWA shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.75.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MWA traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.71. 1,479,757 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,292,073. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.11 and a 52 week high of $20.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.37.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.15. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 8.10%. The firm had revenue of $353.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.064 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.63%.

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.