Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Holdings Lifted by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 697,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,119 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $15,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 126,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 17,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $5,905,000. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 458,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,307,000 after acquiring an additional 214,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth $12,757,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five 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, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA stock opened at $26.88 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.34. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G 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. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.81 and a 1-year high of $28.25.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its 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 firm posted $0.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

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.