Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Holdings Raised by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 647,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 174,817 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.42% of Mueller Water Products worth $14,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MWA. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,055 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,040,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,031,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,528,000 after buying an additional 682,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,154,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MWA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $25.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.04 and its 200-day moving average is $20.62. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.08 and a 52-week high of $26.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 35.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $967,848.66. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.