The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 82.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 123,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 586,551 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Middleby worth $16,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at about $469,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Middleby by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MIDD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.86.

Remove Ads

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD traded up $2.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $165.41. 629,370 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 852,520. The Middleby Co. has a 1-year low of $118.41 and a 1-year high of $182.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82 and a beta of 1.64. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $153.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.51.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.