Franklin Resources Inc. Has $160.84 Million Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,148,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,470,426 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $160,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $5,775,000 after acquiring an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,467,000 after purchasing an additional 64,399 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,696,000 after buying an additional 50,119 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 31,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 11,711 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 1.5 %

MWA opened at $26.08 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.01. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.81 and a twelve month high of $28.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS 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 firm posted $0.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. The trade was 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 insiders.

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.