Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,708 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 709,910 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,708 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.32% of Middleby worth $98,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 421.5% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 356,714 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $57,356,000 after purchasing an additional 288,314 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Middleby by 278.9% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,060 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,457,000 after buying an additional 6,669 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 18.4% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 56,484 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,281,000 after buying an additional 8,768 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,286 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $822,165,000 after acquiring an additional 15,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Middleby in the second quarter worth $500,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MIDD shares. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com raised Middleby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a report on Saturday, September 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.67.

Middleby Stock Down 0.7 %

Middleby stock traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $140.31. The company had a trading volume of 402,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,290. The Middleby Co. has a 12 month low of $115.41 and a 12 month high of $161.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 1.58. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $136.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $996.60 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.