Boston Partners Reduces Stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

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

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Middleby by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Middleby by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Middleby by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Middleby by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Middleby during the 3rd quarter valued at $88,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of Middleby stock opened at $154.90 on Thursday. The Middleby Co. has a twelve month low of $118.41 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $158.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.01.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MIDD. KeyCorp increased their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.86.

Middleby Company 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.