Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $62.47 and traded as high as $64.11. Mueller Industries shares last traded at $63.4690, with a volume of 1,124,316 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Northcoast Research raised 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mueller Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.00.

Mueller Industries Stock Up 3.2%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.50. The company has a market capitalization of $14.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 1.11.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Mueller Industries had a return on equity of 25.68% and a net margin of 18.25%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS.

Mueller Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mueller Industries’s payout ratio is currently 18.23%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Industries

In other Mueller Industries news, Director John B. Hansen sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total value of $68,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,975,770. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory L. Christopher sold 200,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,598,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,425,294. This trade represents a 11.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 273,444 shares of company stock worth $18,757,238 over the last three months. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 11,988.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 15,014,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,845,738,000 after buying an additional 14,890,338 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Industries in the second quarter worth about $1,437,555,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,515,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,207,212,000 after buying an additional 260,306 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,594,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $619,839,000 after buying an additional 33,248 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mueller Industries by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,054,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $465,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468,872 shares during the period. 94.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Industries Company Profile

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.