Nicholas Investment Partners LP Acquires 10,662 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 264,267 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,662 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned 0.17% of Mueller Water Products worth $5,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916,552 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,780,366 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth $20,996,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 888,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 812,127 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.32 per share, for a total transaction of $27,472.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $370,178.40. This represents a 8.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,600 shares of company stock valued at $914,076. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,345,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,575,119. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $364.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.30 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. Mueller Water Products's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is 28.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.25.

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.