Natixis Has $1.44 Million Stock Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Natixis lifted its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 93.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,593 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,118 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Middleby were worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Middleby by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MIDD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.43.

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of MIDD stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $130.68. 80,038 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 683,682. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $148.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.63. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.