Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,968 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,480 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Middleby worth $23,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Middleby during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Middleby by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 220.6% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 249,339 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.59 per share, with a total value of $37,298,621.01. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,088,263 shares in the company, valued at $461,973,262.17. The trade was a 8.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of Middleby 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 directly owns 6,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 503,968 shares of company stock worth $73,215,160. Corporate insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD traded down $0.76 during trading on Monday, hitting $150.73. 107,572 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 910,560. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.11 and a 200 day moving average of $145.89. The company has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 1.65. 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 Middleby Co. has a 52-week low of $118.41 and a 52-week high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.14. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $906.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $941.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Middleby's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

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.