The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc lowered its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 18,434 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned approximately 0.31% of Middleby worth $24,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in Middleby by 5.4% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,782,965 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $701,230,000 after purchasing an additional 246,174 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Middleby by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,171,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $290,756,000 after buying an additional 407,150 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Middleby by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,826,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $299,359,000 after buying an additional 94,230 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Middleby by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,696,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,621,000 after buying an additional 198,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Middleby by 8.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,155,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $170,745,000 after acquiring an additional 90,405 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total transaction of $53,014.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $955,169.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total transaction of $53,014.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $955,169.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total value of $153,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,220,519.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ MIDD traded down $5.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.39. 275,227 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,379. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $109.59 and a 1 year high of $161.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.31. The business's 50 day moving average is $151.21 and its 200-day moving average is $137.87. The company has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 1.56.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Middleby had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 9.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 10.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, TheStreet raised Middleby from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.38.

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.