California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 230,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,165 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.20% of Mueller Industries worth $18,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Mueller Industries during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, City State Bank purchased a new position in Mueller Industries in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. 94.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Jay Goldman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.81, for a total transaction of $798,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,477,181.38. This trade represents a 15.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Northcoast Research raised shares of 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 Trading Down 4.6 %

MLI stock opened at $70.67 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.31 and a 200-day moving average of $79.87. The company has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.99. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.85 and a 12-month high of $96.81.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Mueller Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Mueller Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.