Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,041,339 Shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,704,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,041,339 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.29% of Mueller Industries worth $928,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Mueller Industries by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 161,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,780,000 after purchasing an additional 60,354 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $670,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Mueller Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,286,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Mueller Industries by 167.6% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 4,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Mueller Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mueller Industries

In other news, Director Scott Jay Goldman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.81, for a total value of $798,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,477,181.38. This trade represents a 15.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Northcoast Research raised Mueller Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Mueller Industries Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Mueller Industries stock opened at $76.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.63. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.85 and a 12-month high of $96.81.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Mueller Industries had a return on equity of 22.97% and a net margin of 16.05%.

Mueller Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Mueller Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Mueller Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Mueller Industries Company 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.