Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $12.76 Million Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 566,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,757,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 1.9 %

MWA stock opened at $28.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $14.81 and a one year high of $28.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MWA shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

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.