Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Purchased by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 67.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,644,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 662,637 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 1.05% of Mueller Water Products worth $37,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after buying an additional 208,502 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 19.8% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,467,000 after buying an additional 64,399 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the third quarter valued at $451,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 28.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,534,000 after acquiring an additional 77,772 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 4.5 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.29 on Monday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.81 and a 12-month high of $28.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MWA shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

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.