UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 790,269 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 84.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 790,269 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.27% of Middleby worth $19,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth about $469,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Middleby by 281.3% during the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 6,864 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $930,000 after buying an additional 5,064 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Edward P. Garden purchased 621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.62 per share, for a total transaction of $92,914.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,139,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,781,963.08. This trade represents a 0.02% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased a total of 640,968 shares of company stock worth $93,495,270 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD traded down $1.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $144.55. 926,297 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 717,476. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.67.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $906.63 million for 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MIDD. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.