Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires 3,849 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,849 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $425,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 361.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after acquiring an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 19.8% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,467,000 after acquiring an additional 64,399 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,696,000 after acquiring an additional 50,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 28.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,534,000 after acquiring an additional 77,772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE MWA opened at $26.90 on Friday. 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 $28.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.28 and a 200-day moving average of $23.65. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.00%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio 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.