FourThought Financial Partners LLC Takes Position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 10,049 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MWA. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during 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 last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in 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 valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA stock opened at $25.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $14.81 and a one year high of $28.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.95.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,424.56. The trade was a 57.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MWA. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed 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. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

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.