Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys Shares of 19,740 Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,740 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $20,996,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $60,502,000 after acquiring an additional 888,591 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in 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 valued at $21,826,000 after acquiring an additional 812,127 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $46,274,000 after acquiring an additional 730,442 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA stock traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $24.38. 1,109,325 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,590,542. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.66 and its 200-day moving average is $24.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.18. Mueller Water Products has a 52 week low of $18.05 and a 52 week high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.74 per share, with a total value of $27,461.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 15,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $389,160.20. The trade was a 7.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $181,228.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.