Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 888,591 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 49.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,688,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 888,591 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 1.72% of Mueller Water Products worth $60,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,255 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 13,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $181,228.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,600 shares of company stock valued at $914,076 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $24.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50 day moving average is $25.64 and its 200 day moving average is $24.62. 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 $17.09 and a one year high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.30 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. Mueller Water Products's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is 30.23%.

Mueller Water Products Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MWA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.