Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $287,000 in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MLI. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries during the third quarter valued at about $35,552,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $108,907,000 after purchasing an additional 315,490 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in Mueller Industries by 77.4% in the 3rd 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. Barclays PLC raised 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 period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Mueller Industries by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,451,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $329,830,000 after purchasing an additional 139,406 shares in the last quarter. 94.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

Shares of MLI opened at $80.78 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.78. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.11 and a 1 year high of $96.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.00.

Mueller Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Mueller Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Industries

In related news, Director Charles P. Herzog, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of Mueller Industries 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 transaction, the director now owns 17,733 shares in the company, valued at $1,632,145.32. The trade was a 45.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Hansen sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 94,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,886,404.26. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.