Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 45.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 16,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MWA. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 1.3% during the first quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 54,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,702 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 3.1%

NYSE MWA opened at $23.12 on Friday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.09 and a 12 month high of $28.58. The firm's 50-day moving average is $24.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.30 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. Mueller Water Products's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MWA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.