The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Director Acquires $20,280,110.00 in Stock

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) Director Edward P. Garden acquired 137,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $148.03 per share, for a total transaction of $20,280,110.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,276,834 shares in the company, valued at $485,069,737.02. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ MIDD traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $146.68. 527,107 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 716,642. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year high of $182.73. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $139.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.53. 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 has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 1.65.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.14. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $906.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $941.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Middleby

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Middleby by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Middleby by 760.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 258 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Middleby by 90.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 432 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.14.

Middleby Company 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.