Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Acquired by Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $2,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 36.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.19. 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 twelve month low of $14.81 and a twelve month high of $28.25.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. 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 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. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Insider Activity

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $653,188.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % 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.

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.