HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 96.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 148,088 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Middleby were worth $824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi increased its position in shares of Middleby by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 371,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,037,000 after purchasing an additional 112,855 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth $11,312,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Middleby by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,592 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,112,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Middleby in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,238,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Middleby by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 348,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,167,000 after buying an additional 3,832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $151.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 461,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 616,180. The business's fifty day moving average is $161.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.32. The stock has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 1.72. 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 Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year high of $182.73.

Remove Ads

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for 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 was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MIDD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $180.86.

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.