American Century Companies Inc. Has $23.21 Million Stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 72.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,377 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 443,259 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.32% of Middleby worth $23,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,269 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,124 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Middleby by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Middleby by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 88,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,047,000 after acquiring an additional 10,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Middleby by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 12,596 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Middleby Price Performance

MIDD stock traded down $12.59 on Thursday, hitting $142.17. 1,480,324 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 621,624. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 1.72. The Middleby Co. has a 1-year low of $118.41 and a 1-year high of $182.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $161.82 and a 200-day moving average of $146.49.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Middleby

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.86.

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.