Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 424,312 Shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 56.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,170,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 424,312 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.75% of Mueller Water Products worth $29,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MWA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,954,587 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $381,478,000 after purchasing an additional 378,356 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,174,938 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $93,936,000 after acquiring an additional 596,956 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 79.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $90,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780,366 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,651,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,817,000 after acquiring an additional 636,331 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,248,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,102,000 after acquiring an additional 220,025 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $181,228.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.74 per share, for a total transaction of $27,461.40. Following the purchase, the director owned 15,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $389,160.20. This represents 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.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 1.6%

Mueller Water Products stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $25.12. 471,824 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,579,178. Mueller Water Products has a 1 year low of $18.55 and a 1 year high of $28.58. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.81.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.30 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.25.

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.