The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 27.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,245 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Middleby were worth $2,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Middleby by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Garden Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at about $101,958,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in Middleby in the first quarter worth about $2,283,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,935 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $712,594,000 after buying an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMC Chicago LLC purchased a new position in Middleby in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,069,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Price Performance

Middleby stock traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.58. 203,501 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 749,717. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $146.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $8.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 1.57. The Middleby Corporation has a 12-month low of $121.70 and a 12-month high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $906.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $941.46 million. Middleby had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The business's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middleby news, Director Edward P. Garden purchased 137,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $148.03 per share, with a total value of $20,280,110.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,276,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,069,737.02. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 640,968 shares of company stock valued at $93,495,270 in the last three months. 6.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. 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. 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. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.00.

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.