Virtu Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)

Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) by 148.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,592 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Mueller Industries were worth $742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Mueller Industries by 3.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,451,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $329,830,000 after acquiring an additional 139,406 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $300,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $287,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Mueller Industries by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 364,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,895,000 after buying an additional 43,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in Mueller Industries by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. 94.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Mueller Industries Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of MLI stock opened at $79.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.99. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.85 and a fifty-two week high of $96.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.48.

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

Mueller Industries Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 in the company, valued at $4,477,181.38. This represents a 15.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.