Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Mueller Water Products $MWA

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 69,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MWA. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 22,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 35,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MWA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday. They set an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:MWA opened at $25.86 on Wednesday. Mueller Water Products has a 52-week low of $22.74 and a 52-week high of $31.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.03.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 22.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.75 per share, with a total value of $30,024.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,897.25. This trade represents a 5.16% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.