Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. Invests $1.51 Million in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 104,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,509,000. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. owned 0.07% of Mueller Water Products at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MWA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1,340.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 4,422 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 2,708 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $110,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $127,000. Finally, abrdn plc acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth about $149,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 2,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.18 per share, with a total value of $50,827.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,827. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 2,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.18 per share, with a total value of $50,827.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,827. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,898.26. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,207,346 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

MWA stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,285,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,827. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.11 and a 52 week high of $19.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.97.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.15. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $353.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.064 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MWA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.00.

Mueller Water Products Company 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.