Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $72.65 and traded as high as $80.79. Mueller Industries shares last traded at $79.36, with a volume of 695,307 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Mueller Industries Trading Up 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.87.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.16. Mueller Industries had a return on equity of 23.25% and a net margin of 16.39%. The business had revenue of $997.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $936.00 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Mueller Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Mueller Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John B. Hansen sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.09, for a total transaction of $83,090.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 94,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,886,404.26. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles P. Herzog, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.04, for a total value of $1,380,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,632,145.32. The trade was a 45.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Industries

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MLI. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Mueller Industries by 44.1% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,094,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $119,271,000 after purchasing an additional 641,114 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,552,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,469,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,907,000 after buying an additional 315,490 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 393,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,152,000 after acquiring an additional 171,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Mueller Industries by 343.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 197,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,613,000 after acquiring an additional 152,780 shares during the last quarter. 94.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mueller Industries

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.