Mueller Water Products (MWA) will raise its quarterly dividend to $0.04 per share. Also total share repurchases of up to $250 million (incorporating the current authorization) were authorized today.

The increased dividend will be payable on or about February 21, 2017 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 10, 2017.

"We are committed to providing superior stockholder returns, and by substantially increasing the dividend and share repurchase authorization, our Board has clearly demonstrated its strong belief in the future performance of the business as well as a commitment to returning capital directly to stockholders," Mr. Hyland stated. "Going forward, we will continue to carefully evaluate our capital allocation policies by appropriately balancing the additional return of capital, organic investments in our business, and acquisitions in areas adjacent to our core business that would enable us to better serve our customers. The key criteria for any such investments in the business will be that they deliver superior long-term value versus returning capital directly to stockholders. This share repurchase authorization is an important component of our capital allocation considerations because we believe that Mueller Water Products is now better positioned, as a pure-play water infrastructure company, to deliver further growth and additional stockholder value."

Mueller Water Products, Inc. is a water infrastructure company that manufactures and sells products and services used in the transmission, distribution and measurement of water in North America. Its product and service portfolio includes engineered valves, fire hydrants, metering products and systems, leak detection and pipe condition assessment.