48,844 Shares in Mueller Water Products $MWA Acquired by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired 48,844 shares of Mueller Water Products ($MWA) valued at approximately $1,242,000 during the first quarter.
• Insider activity included Director Thomas J. Hansen selling 24,005 shares and CAO Suzanne G. Smith selling 8,621 shares, significantly reducing their stakes in the company.
• Analysts upgraded Mueller Water Products from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with an average price target set at $28.33.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 48,844 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,242,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perbak Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter worth $781,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 153,043 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,890,000 after acquiring an additional 30,862 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter worth $96,000. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 63.0% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 15,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 5,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter worth $402,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE:MWA traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.06. The stock had a trading volume of 890,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 887,641. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.29. Mueller Water Products has a 52 week low of $20.03 and a 52 week high of $28.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.86, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $380.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.82 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.72%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 1,288 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total transaction of $34,660.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,532.33. The trade was a 62.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.74 per share, for a total transaction of $27,461.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,730 shares in the company, valued at $389,160.20. This represents a 7.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,664 shares of company stock worth $909,819 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.33.

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.