Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 42,385 Shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,218,550 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 42,385 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.73% of Middleby worth $793,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in Middleby by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 760.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Middleby by 220.6% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 60.3% in the 1st 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 boosted its stake in Middleby by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 901 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 137,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $148.03 per share, for a total transaction of $20,280,110.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,276,834 shares in the company, valued at $485,069,737.02. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Down 1.2%

MIDD traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $132.61. The company had a trading volume of 740,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,244. The company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.58. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $142.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.43. The Middleby Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.09 and a 52 week high of $182.73. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $979.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MIDD. 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 research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Middleby from $186.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Middleby to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.00.

Middleby Company 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.