Trillium Asset Management LLC Sells 29,708 Shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Key Points

• Trillium Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Middleby Corporation by 52.4% in the first quarter, selling 29,708 shares and bringing their total ownership to around 27,038 shares.
• Insider trading saw Director Edward P. Garden purchase 137,000 shares of Middleby stock, increasing his ownership by 4.36% to approximately 3.28 million shares.
• Despite a 1.4% decrease in revenue year-over-year, Middleby reported $2.35 EPS for the last quarter, slightly surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.20.

Trillium Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 52.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 29,708 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Middleby worth $4,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in Middleby by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Middleby by 760.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 258 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 220.6% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Middleby by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 638 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 901 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Price Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $132.61. The stock had a trading volume of 740,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,244. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The Middleby Corporation has a 12 month low of $118.09 and a 12 month high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.15. Middleby had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The business had revenue of $977.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Middleby's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MIDD. Wall Street Zen cut Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised Middleby to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middleby news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 137,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,276,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,069,737.02. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

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.