Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 155,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,963,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Mueller Water Products at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 171.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.32 per share, with a total value of $27,472.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,178.40. The trade was a 8.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $181,228.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA opened at $24.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.21. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year high of $28.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.83. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. The business had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.25.

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.