Cerity Partners LLC Decreases Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,520 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Middleby were worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MIDD. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Middleby by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 2,425 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at about $469,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 13.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Middleby by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Middleby Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of MIDD traded up $4.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.46. 202,241 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 675,972. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's 50-day moving average is $150.48 and its 200-day moving average is $145.59. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $179.43.

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.