Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Acquired by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 295,429 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,274 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.19% of Mueller Water Products worth $6,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,954,587 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $381,478,000 after acquiring an additional 378,356 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $197,456,000 after acquiring an additional 791,569 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 79.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $90,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780,366 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,056,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,274,000 after acquiring an additional 730,442 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.4 %

Mueller Water Products stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,232,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,580,265. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.88 and a 52-week high of $28.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.