Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Stock Price Up 4.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) shot up 4.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $63.96 and last traded at $64.0150. 181,539 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,487,919 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MLI. Northcoast Research raised shares of Mueller Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mueller Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Industries currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.00.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.47 and a 200-day moving average of $62.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 25.68%. The business’s revenue was up 25.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share.

Mueller Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Mueller Industries’s payout ratio is presently 18.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John B. Hansen sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total value of $68,130.00. Following the sale, the director owned 29,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,975,770. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gregory L. Christopher sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.44, for a total transaction of $13,688,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,598,850 shares in the company, valued at $109,425,294. This trade represents a 11.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 273,444 shares of company stock worth $18,757,238. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLI. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 11,988.1% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 15,014,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,845,738,000 after buying an additional 14,890,338 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Mueller Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,437,555,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Mueller Industries by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,515,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,207,212,000 after buying an additional 260,306 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,594,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $619,839,000 after purchasing an additional 33,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mueller Industries by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,054,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $465,464,000 after buying an additional 1,468,872 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.50% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Industries Company Profile

Mueller Industries, Inc is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of copper, brass, aluminum and plastic products. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company serves a wide range of markets including HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), refrigeration, plumbing, industrial gas, automotive and agricultural sectors. Its product portfolio encompasses copper and plastic tubing, brass fittings, valves and related components designed for fluid handling and temperature control applications.

The company operates through multiple business segments, including the Plumbing & Refrigeration segment, which supplies copper and plastic tubing, fittings and valves for residential and commercial construction markets; the Industrial Metals & Mining segment, which provides aluminum shapes and specialty brass products for industrial applications; and the Climate segment, which focuses on copper tubing and components for air conditioning and refrigeration systems.