Franklin Resources Inc. Has $160.84 Million Holdings in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,148,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,470,426 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 4.56% of Mueller Water Products worth $160,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth $100,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings 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 worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,757 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MWA opened at $26.08 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.01. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.81 and a 1 year high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MWA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.