The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust trimmed its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Middleby were worth $255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Middleby by 218.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,214,000 after buying an additional 14,991 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Middleby by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,696,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,621,000 after purchasing an additional 198,859 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Middleby by 54.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,910,000 after purchasing an additional 13,493 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Middleby by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 56,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,259,000 after purchasing an additional 12,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 5,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Middleby from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Middleby from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Middleby from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Middleby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.38.

Insider Activity at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total value of $53,014.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $955,169.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total value of $53,014.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,306 shares in the company, valued at $955,169.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total value of $153,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,519.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $144.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $109.59 and a 52 week high of $161.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.06.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Middleby had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 9.93%. Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 10.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.