Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Decreases Stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its stake in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Get Rating) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,537,272 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 65,854 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 2.26% of Mueller Water Products worth $38,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kepos Capital LP lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. Kepos Capital LP now owns 7,553 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 28,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,915 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 13,100 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,096,000. Finally, Credit Suisse AG lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 278,959 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,002,000 after buying an additional 52,577 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company's stock.

MWA traded down $0.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $14.57. 421,846 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 836,527. The business's 50 day moving average price is $13.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.29. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.90 and a 1 year high of $14.98.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $332.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $332.45 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 10th were given a $0.061 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 9th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.00%.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Mueller Water Products from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Seaport Res Ptn reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Mueller Water Products in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.57.

Mueller Water Products, Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of products used in the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water. It operates through the Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions segments. The Water Flow Solutions segment includes iron gate valves, specialty valves, and service brass products.

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