Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 59,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,997 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Mueller Industries were worth $4,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Mueller Industries by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,451,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $329,830,000 after acquiring an additional 139,406 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the fourth quarter worth $300,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $287,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Mueller Industries by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 364,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,895,000 after buying an additional 43,893 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Mueller Industries by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Industries

In other Mueller Industries news, Director Scott Jay Goldman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.81, for a total transaction of $798,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,098 shares in the company, valued at $4,477,181.38. The trade was a 15.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mueller Industries Stock Down 2.8 %

MLI stock opened at $77.34 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $80.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.39. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.85 and a 52-week high of $96.81.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 22.97%.

Mueller Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Mueller Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Mueller Industries’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Northcoast Research upgraded Mueller Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

About Mueller Industries

Mueller Industries, Inc manufactures and sells copper, brass, aluminum, and plastic products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, the Middle East, China, and Mexico. It operates through three segments: Piping Systems, Industrial Metals, and Climate. The Piping Systems segment offers copper tubes, fittings, line sets, and pipe nipples.