Mueller Industries, Inc. $MLI Stock: Quadrant Capital Group LLC Raises Position

Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) by 102.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,203 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Mueller Industries were worth $1,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MLI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the second quarter valued at $1,437,555,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 0.6% during the first 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 last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $244,156,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 966,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Mueller Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $131,286,000. 94.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MLI. Northcoast Research raised Mueller Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Freedom Broker dropped their price target on shares of Mueller Industries from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mueller Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Goldman sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 79,734 shares in the company, valued at $5,109,354.72. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gregory Christopher sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.44, for a total transaction of $13,688,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 275,444 shares of company stock valued at $18,885,398 in the last quarter. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

Mueller Industries stock opened at $54.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.08. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $51.20 and a one year high of $71.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.49 and a 200 day moving average of $63.59.

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

Mueller Industries Announces Dividend

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

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.