Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Position in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) by 97.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 41,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Mueller Industries were worth $1,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 5,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 124.3% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Industries by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Mueller Industries by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 6,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Northcoast Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a research note on Friday, January 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Industries

In other Mueller Industries news, CFO Jeffrey Andrew Martin sold 47,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.25, for a total transaction of $2,328,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 370,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,263,870. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Jeffrey Andrew Martin sold 47,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.25, for a total value of $2,328,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 370,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,263,870. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Hansen sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.33, for a total value of $246,650.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $887,940. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,716 shares of company stock worth $5,806,311 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLI traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $58.43. The stock had a trading volume of 37,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 670,751. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.54 and its 200-day moving average is $47.68. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.96 and a 1 year high of $59.59.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $732.38 million for the quarter. Mueller Industries had a return on equity of 24.69% and a net margin of 17.22%.

Mueller Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from Mueller Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Mueller Industries’s payout ratio is presently 16.03%.

Mueller Industries Profile

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.