Lightrock Netherlands B.V. Makes New $9.78 Million Investment in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Lightrock Netherlands B.V. acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 432,538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,780,000. Mueller Water Products comprises 3.4% of Lightrock Netherlands B.V.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MWA. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after purchasing an additional 208,502 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 19.8% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,467,000 after buying an additional 64,399 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter valued at about $451,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 28.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,534,000 after buying an additional 77,772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA stock opened at $26.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.43. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $14.81 and a one year high of $28.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 31.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MWA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.