Chapin Sarah Palisi Sells 500 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Stock

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Middleby Stock Down 1.6 %

MIDD stock opened at $159.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94 and a beta of 1.64. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $182.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $154.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Middleby by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,323,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Middleby by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Middleby by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Middleby by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Middleby by 4.0% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.86.

About Middleby

The Middleby Corporation designs, markets, manufactures, distributes, and services foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchen equipment worldwide. Its Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group segment offers conveyor, combi, convection, baking, proofing, deck, speed cooking, and hydrovection ovens; ranges, fryers, and rethermalizers; steam cooking, food warming, catering, induction cooking, and countertop cooking equipment; heated cabinets, charbroilers, ventless cooking systems, kitchen ventilation, toasters, griddles, charcoal grills, professional mixers, stainless steel fabrication, custom millwork, professional refrigerators, blast chillers, cold rooms, ice machines, and freezers; soft serve ice cream, coffee and beverage dispensing, home and professional craft brewing equipment; and fry dispensers, bottle filling and canning equipment, IoT solutions, and controls development and manufacturing.