Sarasin & Partners LLP Buys Shares of 16,412 The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

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

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Middleby by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 1.1% during the 4th 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. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Edward P. Garden acquired 249,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.59 per share, with a total value of $37,298,621.01. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,088,263 shares in the company, valued at $461,973,262.17. This trade represents a 8.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 640,968 shares of company stock valued at $93,495,270. Company insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ MIDD traded down $2.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $141.19. 791,098 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 723,085. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year high of $182.73. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $140.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.00.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $906.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $941.46 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. 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 research report on Thursday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.14.

Middleby 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.