Versor Investments LP Raises Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 71.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,927 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $1,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 76,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 11,463 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter worth $452,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 8,143 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 8,617.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 21,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 81.6% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 10,817 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday. TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. 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, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total value of $175,472.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,898.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total transaction of $175,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,898.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MWA opened at $25.99 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.60, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.76 and a 1-year high of $26.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio 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.