Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Position Boosted by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $26.98 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $14.81 and a one year high of $28.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.27. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39.

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 (EPS) 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 last year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

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.