Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on MLI. Freedom Broker decreased their price target on shares of Mueller Industries from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Northcoast Research raised shares of Mueller Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Mueller Industries Trading Up 0.7%

MLI stock opened at $54.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.37. Mueller Industries has a 12-month low of $51.20 and a 12-month high of $71.12. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Mueller Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John B. Hansen sold 2,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.72, for a total transaction of $165,507.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 181,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,279,532.16. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott Goldman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.08, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 275,444 shares of company stock worth $18,885,398 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Industries

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Mueller Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,437,555,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the second quarter valued at $244,156,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $131,286,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 136.5% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,674,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,561,000 after purchasing an additional 966,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $95,120,000. 94.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.