Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) was in 26 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. MWA investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 23 hedge funds in our database with MWA holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are dozens of gauges shareholders can use to track the equity markets. Two of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).

Equally as integral, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of stimuli for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s take a gander at the latest action encompassing Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA).

How have hedgies been trading Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)?

At year’s end, a total of 26 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 13% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Glenview Capital, managed by Larry Robbins, holds the most valuable position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA). Glenview Capital has a $56 million billion position in the stock, comprising 0.8% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Mark McGoldrick and Jason Maynard of Mouth Kellett Capital Management, with a $46 million position; the fund has 5.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds with similar optimism include David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management LP, Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management and Claus Moller’s P2 Capital Partners.

As aggregate interest increased, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, assembled the largest position in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA). Renaissance Technologies had 5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital also initiated a $1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MWA positions are Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.

How have insiders been trading Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)?

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time period, Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s strategies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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