Gotham Asset Management LLC Acquires 37,891 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 43.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,891 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Mueller Water Products worth $2,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,775,000 after purchasing an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,696,000 after buying an additional 50,119 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 31,931 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 11,711 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 199,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,494,000 after acquiring an additional 22,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,573,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE:MWA traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.92. 121,125 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,568,614. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.09 and a twelve month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MWA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders have sold 35,600 shares of company stock valued at $914,076 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently 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.