Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 16,159 Shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (NYSE:MWA)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 65.9%, now owning 40,684 shares worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 16,159 shares in the first quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.067 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1%, payable on August 21st.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with a consensus price target of $26.25.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 65.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 16,159 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 73.1% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its position in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 6.0% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its stake in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 54,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,702 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,255 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of MWA traded down $0.53 on Friday, reaching $24.23. 1,475,125 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,322,327. The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.05. MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS has a 12 month low of $18.55 and a 12 month high of $28.58.

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.30 million. MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 10.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.1%. MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $181,228.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.74 per share, with a total value of $27,461.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 15,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,160.20. The trade was a 7.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS

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.