Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Position in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (NYSE:MWA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 45.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,400 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS were worth $1,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MWA. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,696,000 after buying an additional 50,119 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 31,931 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 11,711 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 199,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,494,000 after purchasing an additional 22,045 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,573,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 150,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,395,000 after purchasing an additional 64,163 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.25.

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MWA stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 717,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,466. MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year high of $28.58. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 2.49.

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $364.30 million during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS's payout ratio is presently 29.67%.

Insider Transactions at MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.32 per share, for a total transaction of $27,472.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $370,178.40. The trade was a 8.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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. Corporate 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.