Royal Bank of Canada Has $17.96 Million Stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 82.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 613,681 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.25% of Middleby worth $17,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 2,425 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth about $469,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Edward P. Garden bought 249,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.59 per share, for a total transaction of $37,298,621.01. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,088,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $461,973,262.17. This represents a 8.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 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 weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp cut 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, Robert W. Baird lowered 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. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.14.

Middleby Trading Down 0.6%

MIDD stock traded down $0.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $146.62. The company had a trading volume of 80,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 714,890. The stock has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.16 and a 200-day moving average of $146.41. 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 Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $906.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $941.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share 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.