Palisades Investment Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 238,316 Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Palisades Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 238,316 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $5,362,000. Mueller Water Products comprises about 2.3% of Palisades Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Palisades Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.15% of Mueller Water Products as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916,552 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 79.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $90,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780,366 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,996,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 888,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 812,127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Mueller Water Products stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.88. 345,087 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,564,110. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.09 and a 12-month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. The business had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,600 shares of company stock worth $914,076 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MWA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.