Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 69,400 Mueller Water Products $MWA

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 69,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 22,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 35,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays began coverage on Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.00.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.75 per share, for a total transaction of $30,024.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,763 shares in the company, valued at $611,897.25. This represents a 5.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.9%

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.94. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $22.74 and a twelve month high of $31.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 4.57, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

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

About Mueller Water Products

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.