DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Invests $163,000 in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth about $9,154,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 75.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 446,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,995,000 after buying an additional 192,516 shares during the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,718,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 296.7% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 8,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth approximately $743,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 102,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,112,375.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at $2,112,375.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total value of $2,751,046.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,065,549.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 256,869 shares of company stock worth $5,141,842 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $21.06 on Friday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.13 and a 52-week high of $21.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.70. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.31 and its 200-day moving average is $18.18.

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

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.064 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MWA shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

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.