Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases New Shares in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 45,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,161,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MWA. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 73.1% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 184.6% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,702 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.74 per share, for a total transaction of $27,461.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,160.20. The trade was a 7.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.37 on Friday, hitting $26.19. The stock had a trading volume of 121,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,175. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Mueller Water Products has a one year low of $19.23 and a one year high of $28.58. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $24.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.18.

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

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

Mueller Water Products 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.