The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Boston Partners

Boston Partners reduced its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 421,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,420 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.78% of Middleby worth $57,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at about $469,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the period. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MIDD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.86.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD stock opened at $154.90 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 1.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.01. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $182.73. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Middleby Profile

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.