The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc decreased its holdings in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 22.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,496 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 37,793 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 0.25% of Middleby worth $20,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Garden Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth about $101,958,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $91,869,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 237.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 366,293 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,614,000 after buying an additional 257,669 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,930,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Middleby by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,247,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $169,000,000 after purchasing an additional 150,709 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MIDD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 249,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.59 per share, for a total transaction of $37,298,621.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,088,263 shares in the company, valued at $461,973,262.17. The trade was a 8.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders purchased a total of 640,968 shares of company stock valued at $93,495,270 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD traded up $2.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $148.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,162,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,856. The Middleby Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.83 and a 52-week high of $182.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.59.

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

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.