Impax Asset Management Group plc Has $103.07 Million Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lowered its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,580,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,157,922 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned approximately 2.93% of Mueller Water Products worth $103,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 108.9% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 53,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 27,751 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at $1,573,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,644,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,004,000 after acquiring an additional 662,637 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 199,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,494,000 after acquiring an additional 22,045 shares during the period. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 64,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 20,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MWA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 4.5 %

MWA opened at $25.29 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.87 and its 200-day moving average is $22.88. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.81 and a 1-year high of $28.25.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. Equities research 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the business’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 transaction of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at $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. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.