Brian C. Healy Buys 1,115 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Stock

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,115 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $24,886.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,044.80. This trade represents a 22.19 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $22.03 on Wednesday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.49 and a 1 year high of $26.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The company had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 35.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 9,061 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 924,706 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,066,000 after purchasing an additional 12,391 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $197,456,000 after purchasing an additional 791,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 100.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 25,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 12,724 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% 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.