Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes $1.02 Million Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 70,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,018,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,855,884 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $188,373,000 after buying an additional 40,079 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,843,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $179,042,000 after buying an additional 71,134 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,310,321 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,015,000 after purchasing an additional 95,661 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,375,257 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $74,929,000 after purchasing an additional 15,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Vance Management increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 3,984,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,476,000 after purchasing an additional 690,788 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MWA traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.50. The company had a trading volume of 650,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 712,938. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $12.11 and a one year high of $16.93.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $256.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.64 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 6.35%. Mueller Water Products's revenue for the quarter was down 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.064 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is currently 52.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MWA shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van purchased 10,000 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 80,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,242,898.26. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 80,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,242,898.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 6,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.62, for a total transaction of $103,997.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 34,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $534,141.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,463 shares of company stock worth $1,218,642. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products 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.