Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Trading Up 4.3% – Time to Buy?

Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) shot up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $84.33 and last traded at $83.63. 94,385 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 835,666 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Mueller Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.42.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $997.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $936.00 million. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 23.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Mueller Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Mueller Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Industries

In other Mueller Industries news, Director Charles P. Herzog, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.04, for a total value of $1,380,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,145.32. This represents a 45.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Hansen sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.09, for a total value of $83,090.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 94,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,886,404.26. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Industries in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in Mueller Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Mueller Industries by 36.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 61.7% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. 94.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.