Cerity Partners LLC Sells 3,711 Shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its position in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 36.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,394 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,711 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Middleby were worth $972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Middleby by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 0.9% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,020 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 2.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 23,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Performance

Middleby stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $149.70. The stock had a trading volume of 536,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,365. The firm's fifty day moving average is $146.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.47. The company has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71 and a beta of 1.57. The Middleby Corporation has a 52-week low of $121.70 and a 52-week high of $182.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $906.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.46 million. Middleby had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In related news, Director Edward P. Garden acquired 137,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $148.03 per share, with a total value of $20,280,110.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,276,834 shares in the company, valued at $485,069,737.02. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 640,968 shares of company stock worth $93,495,270. Company insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $166.00.

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.