Mueller Industries, Inc. $MLI Position Lifted by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board raised its position in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) by 767.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,764 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in Mueller Industries were worth $1,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MLI. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the second quarter worth $29,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. NBT Bank N A NY grew its stake in Mueller Industries by 148.7% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Mueller Industries in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Mueller Industries by 80.4% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. 94.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Mueller Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. Freedom Broker lowered their target price on Mueller Industries from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Mueller Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.50.

Mueller Industries Price Performance

Shares of MLI stock opened at $54.49 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.25. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $71.12. The stock has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.08.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.08). Mueller Industries had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 25.23%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Mueller Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $0.1750 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Mueller Industries’s payout ratio is currently 17.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gregory L. Christopher sold 200,000 shares of Mueller Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.44, for a total value of $13,688,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,598,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,425,294. The trade was a 11.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Scott Goldman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.08, for a total value of $128,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 79,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,109,354.72. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 275,444 shares of company stock worth $18,885,398 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Industries

Mueller Industries, Inc is a manufacturer of metal and plastic products used in plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, fire protection, water distribution, and industrial applications. Its product portfolio includes copper, brass, aluminum, and steel tubing; fittings; valves; copper and plastic piping systems; and related components.

The company sells products primarily through wholesale distributors, original equipment manufacturers, building-supply outlets, and other industrial channels.