Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Shares Purchased by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 483,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 13,096 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.31% of Mueller Water Products worth $10,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $146,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 2.5 %

Mueller Water Products stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.23. 1,135,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,576,323. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $25.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.53. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.14 and a fifty-two week high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MWA. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.80.

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.