10,582 Shares in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Bought by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 92,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 6,473 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth about $457,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in 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 worth $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 27,751 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MWA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 2.2 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.20 on Tuesday. 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 $28.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.10.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

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.