Bessemer Group Inc. Has $16.19 Million Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products $MWA

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 354.9% in the first quarter, ending with 588,830 shares valued at about $16.19 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 91.68% of the company’s stock. Several other large investors also boosted their positions in recent filings.
• Wall Street’s view is mixed but leans cautious: Mueller Water Products has a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $30, while shares recently traded around $25.51.

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 354.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 588,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 459,393 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.38% of Mueller Water Products worth $16,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MWA. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,165,849 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $146,871,000 after purchasing an additional 250,461 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,506,486 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $107,344,000 after purchasing an additional 350,837 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,613,397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $86,075,000 after buying an additional 22,056 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,262,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,717,000 after buying an additional 37,148 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,241,253 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,207,000 after buying an additional 182,905 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Mueller Water Products in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.00.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA opened at $25.51 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $25.50 and its 200-day moving average is $26.95. Mueller Water Products has a 12 month low of $22.74 and a 12 month high of $31.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 22.11% and a net margin of 14.17%.The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.37%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,183 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.33 per share, for a total transaction of $29,965.39. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 24,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $631,882.18. This represents a 4.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company's portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company's operations are organized around two primary business segments.

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