Natixis Advisors LLC Takes Position in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,357 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $645,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MWA. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings 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 worth $90,318,000 after buying an additional 1,780,366 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 95.4% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,212,850 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $81,671,000 after buying an additional 1,568,247 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,688,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,502,000 after buying an additional 888,591 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 21.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,651,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,817,000 after buying an additional 636,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,174,938 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $93,936,000 after buying an additional 596,956 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.74 per share, with a total value of $27,461.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,160.20. This represents a 7.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE MWA traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.27. 97,268 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,823,039. The business's 50-day moving average is $24.68 and its 200-day moving average is $25.18. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $19.23 and a twelve month high of $28.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.18.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The company had revenue of $380.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.82 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is 28.72%.

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.