Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Invests $3.96 Million in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 155,883 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,963,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.10% of Mueller Water Products as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.25.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,085 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.32 per share, for a total transaction of $27,472.20. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $370,178.40. The trade was a 8.02% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $181,228.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $23.84. 240,255 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,570,084. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's fifty day moving average is $24.95 and its 200 day moving average is $24.82. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.09 and a 1 year high of $28.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. The company had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Mueller Water Products's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

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.