Vest Financial LLC Acquires New Stake in Mueller Water Products $MWA

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 63,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,517,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 131.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 398.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 31.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 677.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MWA. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 price objective on Mueller Water Products in a research note 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 research note on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.33.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE MWA opened at $27.90 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $28.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.59. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $22.74 and a twelve month high of $31.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 22.34% and a net margin of 13.83%.The firm had revenue of $318.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack acquired 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.58 per share, for a total transaction of $739,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $739,500. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 10,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.61, for a total value of $295,979.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 64,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,209.97. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company 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.