Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Stake Boosted by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MWA. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 7.7 %

Shares of MWA stock opened at $26.98 on Tuesday. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.81 and a 1 year high of $28.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price 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 increased their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products 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.