Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 309,274 Shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI - Free Report) by 97.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 628,061 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 309,274 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Mueller Industries worth $29,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,172,082 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $196,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,055,506 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 109.3% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,338 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,212,000 after acquiring an additional 46,653 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 67,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,189,000 after acquiring an additional 28,858 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 100.1% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 194,186 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,156,000 after acquiring an additional 97,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 117.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 116,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,477,000 after acquiring an additional 62,834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd.

Mueller Industries Price Performance

Shares of Mueller Industries stock traded down $0.76 on Friday, hitting $57.51. 730,870 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 721,205. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $34.96 and a one year high of $60.31. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $54.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.08.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 17.22% and a return on equity of 24.69%. The business had revenue of $849.65 million during the quarter.

Mueller Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Mueller Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.03%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Industries

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Andrew Martin sold 52,436 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.25, for a total value of $3,001,961.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 313,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,949,535.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Mueller Industries news, CFO Jeffrey Andrew Martin sold 52,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.25, for a total transaction of $3,001,961.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 313,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,949,535.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Hansen sold 2,733 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $160,181.13. Following the transaction, the director now owns 103,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,090,399.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,169 shares of company stock worth $3,391,302 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Mueller Industries Profile

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.