Sarasin & Partners LLP Acquires New Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 16,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,283,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Middleby by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Middleby by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Middleby by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings 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 worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middleby news, Director Edward P. Garden acquired 137,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $148.03 per share, with a total value of $20,280,110.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,276,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,069,737.02. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders purchased a total of 640,968 shares of company stock worth $93,495,270 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MIDD shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.14.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of Middleby stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $148.17. The stock had a trading volume of 178,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,288. The stock's 50 day moving average is $139.44 and its 200 day moving average is $146.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44 and a beta of 1.65. The Middleby Co. has a twelve month low of $118.41 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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 the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $941.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect 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.