Cetera Investment Advisers Invests $900,000 in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers purchased 35,410 shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) during Q1, representing a stake valued at approximately $900,000.
• Insider trading activity includes Director Brian C. Healy buying 1,110 shares at $24.74 each, increasing his ownership in the company by 7.59%.
• Mueller Water Products recently reported Q2 earnings of $0.34 per share, just below analysts' expectations, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.067 to be paid on August 21st.

Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 35,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $900,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 65.9% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 40,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 16,159 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 42.3% during the first quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 47,848 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 14,226 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the first quarter worth $2,659,000. PFG Advisors increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 53.6% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 14,665 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter valued at $14,457,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

MWA stock traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.25. 613,153 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,535,930. Mueller Water Products has a 12 month low of $19.23 and a 12 month 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is presently 28.72%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,110 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was acquired 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.