Synovus Financial Corp Grows Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 100.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 12,724 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 77,467 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 19.8% during the 3rd 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 period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter valued at about $451,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,093,000 after buying an additional 2,369,055 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,031,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,848.66. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $23.88 on Wednesday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.49 and a fifty-two week high of $26.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.37.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. Mueller Water Products’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.067 dividend. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.62%.

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.