Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 48.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,073 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,113 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.05% of Mueller Water Products worth $1,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 5.0% during 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 during the period. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 13,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 7.0 %

Shares of NYSE MWA traded down $1.89 on Tuesday, reaching $25.16. 2,036,737 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,138,177. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.09 and a fifty-two week high of $28.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.70 and a 200 day moving average of $24.59.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. The company had revenue of $364.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.80.

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.