Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Acquires 581 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at $146,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,757 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

NYSE MWA opened at $24.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.14 and its 200 day moving average is $23.13. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.81 and a fifty-two week 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.