Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 1,700 Shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Mueller Industries were worth $2,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MLI. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Mueller Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,552,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Mueller Industries by 27.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,469,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,907,000 after purchasing an additional 315,490 shares during the last quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,376,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Mueller Industries by 77.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 393,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,152,000 after purchasing an additional 171,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Mueller Industries by 343.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 197,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,613,000 after purchasing an additional 152,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott Jay Goldman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.81, for a total value of $798,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,477,181.38. This represents a 15.13 % 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 link. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

MLI opened at $79.66 on Tuesday. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.10 and a 52-week high of $96.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.99.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Mueller Industries had a return on equity of 22.97% and a net margin of 16.05%.

Mueller Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Mueller Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Mueller Industries’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

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.