Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $70.99 and last traded at $70.6960, with a volume of 70858 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.26.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Mueller Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MLI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Northcoast Research raised 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, Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.00.

Mueller Industries Stock Down 0.8%

The firm has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.60.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Mueller Industries had a return on equity of 25.68% and a net margin of 18.25%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share.

Insider Activity at Mueller Industries

In related news, Director John B. Hansen sold 2,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.72, for a total value of $165,507.68. Following the sale, the director directly owned 181,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,279,532.16. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Industries

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MLI. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the second quarter valued at $28,676,000. JLB & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $11,979,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $2,686,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in Mueller Industries during the second quarter valued at about $650,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $428,000. 94.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mueller Industries

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.