Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI - Free Report) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,090 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,386 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.08% of Mueller Industries worth $7,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. City State Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Industries by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 810 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. 94.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Industries

In other Mueller Industries news, Director Scott Jay Goldman sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.81, for a total value of $798,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,477,181.38. This represents a 15.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

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 Performance

NYSE:MLI traded down $2.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $78.41. 1,100,369 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,434. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $80.31 and a 200 day moving average of $77.75. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.46 and a 12 month high of $96.81.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Mueller Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Mueller Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.07%.

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.