Quarry LP Boosts Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Quarry LP raised its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 341.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,355 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 399.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,055 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $14,642,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth $14,040,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth $13,031,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 194.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,528,000 after acquiring an additional 682,740 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total value of $175,472.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,898.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total transaction of $2,751,046.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,065,549.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total value of $175,472.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,699 shares in the company, valued at $691,898.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 256,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,141,842. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $21.37 on Wednesday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.13 and a 1-year high of $21.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.46.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $356.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.67 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 19.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.064 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MWA shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products 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.