Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 73,800 Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 73,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,876,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,780,366 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $20,996,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,688,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,502,000 after purchasing an additional 888,591 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 514.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 970,055 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,826,000 after acquiring an additional 812,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 55.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,056,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,274,000 after acquiring an additional 730,442 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 15,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,160.20. This represents a 7.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 currently owned by insiders.

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 report on Saturday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,992,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,583,433. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.18. Mueller Water Products has a 1 year low of $18.55 and a 1 year high of $28.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.81. The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The firm's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

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.