Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires New Stake in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired 10,815 shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA), valued at approximately $275,000, indicating strong interest from institutional investors.
• Mueller Water Products reported earnings per share of $0.34 for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 3.1% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company recently declared a $0.067 quarterly dividend, with a dividend yield of 1.1%, signaling a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,815 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,174,938 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $93,936,000 after acquiring an additional 596,956 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 79.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $90,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780,366 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 21.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,651,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,817,000 after acquiring an additional 636,331 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,248,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,102,000 after acquiring an additional 220,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 95.4% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,212,850 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $81,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $181,228.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.74 per share, for a total transaction of $27,461.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,730 shares in the company, valued at $389,160.20. The trade was a 7.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 2.1%

MWA stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.23. 1,475,125 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,248,570. 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 has a 1-year low of $18.55 and a 1-year high of $28.58. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $24.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.03. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.18.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.