Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 5,891 Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 511,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,891 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $11,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,954,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $381,478,000 after buying an additional 378,356 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $197,456,000 after purchasing an additional 791,569 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,931,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,317,000 after purchasing an additional 12,438 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,809,000 after purchasing an additional 73,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916,552 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MWA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 3.1 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 29.66, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.67 and its 200 day moving average is $23.86. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.81 and a 12-month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

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.