Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Purchases Shares of 6,474 Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $146,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 77,467 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in 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. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 64,399 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the third quarter valued at about $451,000. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth about $13,031,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA opened at $23.00 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.85. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.49 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 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,848.66. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MWA. 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 issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

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.