The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 21,882 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Middleby worth $13,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Middleby by 220.6% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Middleby by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Middleby

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Edward P. Garden purchased 249,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.59 per share, for a total transaction of $37,298,621.01. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,088,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $461,973,262.17. The trade was a 8.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 503,968 shares of company stock valued at $73,215,160 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MIDD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.14.

Middleby Stock Performance

MIDD stock opened at $147.14 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $140.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.16. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $182.73. The firm has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 1.65. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $906.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.46 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

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.

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