Prudential PLC Takes Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Prudential PLC bought a new stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Middleby by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Middleby by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 3rd quarter valued at $88,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in Middleby by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MIDD shares. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.43.

Middleby Price Performance

Middleby stock traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $134.01. The stock had a trading volume of 82,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 658,442. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $155.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.10.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.