Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Boosts Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 349.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,443 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.'s holdings in Middleby were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 41.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Middleby during the third quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Middleby by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middleby Trading Down 4.7 %

NASDAQ:MIDD traded down $6.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $135.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,346,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 626,658. The Middleby Co. has a twelve month low of $118.41 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $161.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.54. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.72.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $996.69 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MIDD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $180.86.

Insider Activity at Middleby

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