Select Equity Group L.P. Sells 271,533 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Select Equity Group L.P. reduced its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,289,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 271,533 shares during the quarter. Middleby accounts for 3.4% of Select Equity Group L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Select Equity Group L.P. owned 11.69% of Middleby worth $851,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Middleby by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,935 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $712,594,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Middleby by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,895,553 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $256,753,000 after purchasing an additional 35,449 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Middleby by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,311,966 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $177,706,000 after purchasing an additional 47,443 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Middleby by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,247,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $169,000,000 after purchasing an additional 150,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in Middleby by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,198,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $162,293,000 after purchasing an additional 72,031 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MIDD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Edward P. Garden purchased 37,473 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $148.40 per share, for a total transaction of $5,560,993.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,125,736 shares in the company, valued at $463,859,222.40. This trade represents a 1.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 503,968 shares of company stock valued at $73,215,160. Insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ MIDD traded up $1.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $152.11. 565,390 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 712,744. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year 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 market cap of $8.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $141.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.04.

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