Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Mueller Water Products $MWA

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 930,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 357,087 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.60% of Mueller Water Products worth $23,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 66.1% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,535,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,061,000 after buying an additional 2,203,088 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 525.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,393,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170,683 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,825,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $140,042,000 after acquiring an additional 945,258 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 21.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,449,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,987,000 after acquiring an additional 796,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 344.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 945,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,733,000 after purchasing an additional 732,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $29.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.17. Mueller Water Products has a one year low of $22.01 and a one year high of $30.47. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.55.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The firm had revenue of $318.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 15,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total transaction of $371,614.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 85,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,115,276.54. This represents a 14.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.41 per share, for a total transaction of $27,461.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 17,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,549.25. This trade represents a 6.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 price target on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.33.

Mueller Water Products Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company’s operations are organized around two primary business segments.