New York State Common Retirement Fund Buys 16,600 Shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,637 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,600 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.13% of Mueller Water Products worth $4,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 79.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $90,318,000 after buying an additional 1,780,366 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $20,996,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,688,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,502,000 after acquiring an additional 888,591 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 514.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 812,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 55.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 730,442 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $24.68. 636,973 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,873,984. Mueller Water Products has a 1 year low of $18.55 and a 1 year high of $28.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.74 per share, with a total value of $27,461.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,160.20. The trade was a 7.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $181,228.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.25.

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.