Madison Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 102,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,297,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% in the third 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. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 364.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 401,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,716,000 after buying an additional 315,224 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at $1,487,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at $671,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,944,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,200,000 after buying an additional 37,729 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 2.8 %

MWA stock opened at $26.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.81 and a 52 week high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 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 Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at $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. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.