Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes $2.66 Million Position in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired 104,608 shares of Mueller Water Products for approximately $2,659,000 in the first quarter, increasing its ownership to about 0.07% of the company.
• Mueller Water Products received an upgrade from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, contributing to a consensus target price of $26.25 among analysts.
• Insider transactions included Director Brian Slobodow selling 7,376 shares and Director Brian C. Healy purchasing 1,110 shares, indicating mixed signals from company executives.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 104,608 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,659,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.07% of Mueller Water Products at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 73.1% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.0% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.3% in the first quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 54,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,702 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,255 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 768 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 down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.23. 1,475,105 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,851,782. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.18. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $24.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.99. Mueller Water Products has a 1-year low of $18.55 and a 1-year high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.74 per share, with a total value of $27,461.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $389,160.20. This represents a 7.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned by insiders.

About Mueller Water Products

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.