Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Raises Stock Holdings in The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Key Points

• Price T. Rowe Associates Inc. has increased its stake in The Middleby Corporation by 59.8%, owning approximately 5.65% of the company, valued at $460.4 million.
• The Middleby Corporation reported $2.35 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, although its revenue decreased by 1.4% year-over-year.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Middleby, with recent price targets ranging from $162 to $165, and an average rating of "Hold" based on current market performance.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 59.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,029,484 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,133,931 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 5.65% of Middleby worth $460,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 7,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $420,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,313 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,531 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Middleby from $186.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Middleby to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $159.00.

Middleby Price Performance

NASDAQ MIDD traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $137.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 763,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 910,996. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $141.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The Middleby Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.09 and a 1 year high of $182.73. The company has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 1.58.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $977.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $979.59 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 11.06%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal 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.