Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Has $9.97 Million Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 442,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 52,694 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.28% of Mueller Water Products worth $9,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,954,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $381,478,000 after purchasing an additional 378,356 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $197,456,000 after purchasing an additional 791,569 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,931,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,317,000 after purchasing an additional 12,438 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,809,000 after buying an additional 73,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,838,000 after buying an additional 2,916,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MWA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA stock opened at $26.28 on Friday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.81 and a 12 month high of $28.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.62 and its 200 day moving average is $23.82.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Insider Activity

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