Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Stake Boosted by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,399 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.25% of Mueller Water Products worth $8,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 3.1% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA opened at $25.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $13.45 and a one year high of $26.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.85.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $967,848.66. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 72,295 shares of company stock worth $1,840,956. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.