Northern Trust Corp Boosts Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 492,265 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 110,601 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.92% of Middleby worth $66,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Middleby in the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Middleby by 4,494.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $171,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,767 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter worth about $469,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD traded up $6.56 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $146.08. The stock had a trading volume of 219,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 703,662. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.47. The stock has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 1.65.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $906.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $941.46 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MIDD. StockNews.com downgraded Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.14.

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.