Legato Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Legato Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MWA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 36.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $27.09 on Friday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.81 and a fifty-two week high of $28.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.62 and a 200 day moving average of $22.54.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued 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 return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MWA. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.