Impax Asset Management Group plc Has $179.22 Million Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,445,555 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 815,515 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 7.97% of Mueller Water Products worth $179,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $15.51. 1,074,649 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,915. The firm's 50 day moving average is $15.36 and its 200-day moving average is $14.06. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $12.11 and a one year high of $16.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 3.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.35.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.04. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The company had revenue of $256.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.00%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,898.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,898.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total transaction of $560,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $623,892.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,463 shares of company stock valued at $1,218,642. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.00.

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.

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