Aberdeen Group plc Raises Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products $MWA

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 19.0%, owning 651,304 shares worth approximately $15.7 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions in Mueller Water Products, with Vanguard Group increasing its holdings by 16.8% during the first quarter.
• Mueller Water Products announced a quarterly dividend of $0.067, translating to an annualized yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 28.72%.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 19.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 651,304 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 103,771 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.42% of Mueller Water Products worth $15,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,795,482 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $503,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840,895 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 66.2% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,401,086 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $137,296,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,096 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,108 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $124,052,000 after purchasing an additional 865,977 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,651,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,817,000 after purchasing an additional 636,331 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 95.4% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,212,850 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $81,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,247 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

NYSE:MWA opened at $25.39 on Wednesday. Mueller Water Products has a 52 week low of $21.35 and a 52 week high of $28.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 27.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $25.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.13.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 10.67%.The firm had revenue of $237.40 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS 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 issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.78 per share, for a total transaction of $27,584.60. Following the acquisition, the director owned 16,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $433,104. This represents a 6.80% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 1,288 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total value of $34,660.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,532.33. The trade was a 62.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,664 shares of company stock worth $909,819. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.33.

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.

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