Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 2,425 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 121.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Middleby were worth $615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 533.3% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 8,714 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 142,460.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,128 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 7,123 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth $219,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Middleby from $155.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $160.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.83.

Middleby Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Middleby stock traded down $1.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $169.84. 1,062,550 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 903,418. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock's fifty day moving average is $142.91 and its 200 day moving average is $138.94. The firm has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43 and a beta of 1.63. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year high of $177.90.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company had revenue of $942.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. Middleby's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 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.