Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Invests $913,000 in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund bought a new position in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 35,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $913,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,780,366 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,996,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $60,502,000 after purchasing an additional 888,591 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position 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 worth $21,826,000 after purchasing an additional 812,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $46,274,000 after purchasing an additional 730,442 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,030,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,588,310. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $24.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.18. Mueller Water Products has a 1-year low of $18.05 and a 1-year high of $28.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 3.79.

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. The firm had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Company 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.