The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,968 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,480 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Middleby worth $23,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter worth $469,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter worth $219,000. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Trading Up 1.1%

Middleby stock traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $151.49. 624,976 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 711,689. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.74. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $182.73. The firm has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $906.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.46 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. Middleby's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.14.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Edward P. Garden purchased 203,058 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $139.13 per share, for a total transaction of $28,251,459.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,838,924 shares in the company, valued at $394,979,496.12. This represents a 7.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 466,495 shares of company stock valued at $67,654,167 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

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.