National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stock Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,757 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $141,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after buying an additional 77,467 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,055 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,031,000. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,040,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,848.66. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $24.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.33. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.49 and a 52-week high of $26.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.76 and a 200 day moving average of $21.06.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 35.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MWA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

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.