Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 459,393 Shares of Mueller Water Products $MWA

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) by 354.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 588,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 459,393 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Mueller Water Products were worth $16,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 47.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 232,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,514,000 after buying an additional 74,436 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 84,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,323,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 93.0% during the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 13,061 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3,741.9% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 11,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 15.2% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 12,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MWA. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.33 per share, with a total value of $29,965.39. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 24,946 shares in the company, valued at $631,882.18. This represents a 4.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA stock opened at $25.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.95. 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 has a 12 month low of $22.74 and a 12 month high of $31.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.37%.

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.