Trillium Asset Management LLC Has $4.11 Million Stock Holdings in 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 decreased its holdings in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 52.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 29,708 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Middleby worth $4,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Middleby by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 760.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 258 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 220.6% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 60.3% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 638 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 44.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 901 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 137,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $148.03 per share, for a total transaction of $20,280,110.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,276,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,069,737.02. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Middleby Stock Performance

MIDD traded down $1.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $132.61. 740,245 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,222,244. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.58. The Middleby Corporation has a 1-year low of $118.09 and a 1-year high of $182.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MIDD. Wall Street Zen lowered Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Middleby from $186.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.00.

About Middleby

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.