First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Purchases Shares of 1,617 The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Middleby by 4.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 1.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 5.2% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 41.1% during the fourth 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. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Middleby by 133.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD traded down $0.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $171.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 779,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,409. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.91 and a 200-day moving average of $138.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61 and a beta of 1.61. The Middleby Co. has a 12 month low of $118.41 and a 12 month high of $177.90.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $996.60 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Middleby from $155.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $174.67.

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.