JLB & Associates Inc. Purchases New Shares in Mueller Industries, Inc. $MLI

Key Points

• JLB & Associates opened a new Q4 position in Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) of 46,534 shares, valued at about $5.34 million.
• CEO Gregory L. Christopher sold 103,266 shares on April 27 for roughly $14.18 million; insiders have sold 108,696 shares (~$14.82M) in the past 90 days, leaving insiders with 2.30% ownership.
• Mueller reported a strong quarter—$2.16 EPS vs. $1.49 est. and $1.19B revenue vs. $1.10B est.—and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.35 (annualized $1.40, ~1.0% yield).

JLB & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 46,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $5,342,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 121.1% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Mueller Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Mueller Industries by 228.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Mueller Industries by 108.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Industries

In other news, CEO Gregory L. Christopher sold 103,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.29, for a total value of $14,177,389.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 804,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $110,506,231.19. This represents a 11.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Hansen sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $116,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 90,664 shares in the company, valued at $10,581,395.44. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 108,696 shares of company stock worth $14,821,136. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MLI shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mueller Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Mueller Industries Price Performance

MLI opened at $137.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.25. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.16 and a fifty-two week high of $140.84. The company has a market cap of $15.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.67. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 19.37% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Mueller Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Mueller Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Mueller Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.32%.

Mueller Industries 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.

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