Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. Has $14.60 Million Stake in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 15.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 574,151 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 103,500 shares during the period. Mueller Water Products comprises approximately 3.0% of Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Mueller Water Products worth $14,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 79.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $90,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,366 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,996,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 49.4% in the 4th 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 during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 514.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 55.1% in the 4th 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 during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,110 shares of the firm's 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 acquisition, the director owned 15,730 shares in the company, valued at $389,160.20. This trade represents a 7.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the business'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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE MWA traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.14. The company had a trading volume of 616,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,855. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.78. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $18.55 and a fifty-two week high of $28.58.

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

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 dividend yield of 1.07%. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is 29.67%.

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.